Barack Obama sought to resuscitate his flagging presidency and the US economy with a larger-than-expected $450bn jobs plan that emphasises tax cuts in a bid to win over Republican opposition.

In a sign of the White House’s own bleak assessment of the recovery, the proposal, which was presented in an address by the US president to Congress, is more than half the size of the stimulus package enacted by Mr Obama shortly after he took office in the depths of the financial crisis of 2009.

“It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services,” Mr Obama said.

If enacted, the plan would reduce tax paid by workers to fund the national retirement scheme to 3.1 per cent in 2012 from the 4.2 per cent level temporarily introduced this year.