White House jobs council shutting down

Unemployment remains problematical, but that isn't stopping the White House jobs council from shutting down.

President Barack Obama created it in 2011 and filled it with prominent business leaders and economists. Its authority runs out Thursday, and the White House says it's not renewing the panel.

Instead, a White House official says the administration will focus on new ways to engage with the business community and create jobs, including expediting permits for infrastructure projects.

Obama met with the jobs council only a handful of times, most recently in February of 2012. Some Republicans say that's a sign he hasn't devoted enough attention to unemployment, a top concern for Americans.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney today grew irate with a reporter who questioned how much success the council could have had, having met such a small number of times in its two-year existence. He said the experiment was "helpful" and that "a number of its ideas were acted upon by this administration," but explained, "it was a two-year charter, and the charter has expired."

Carney also called Republican criticism of the council "ridiculous."

"It's a little ironic to hear from those who with great fervor embraced the policies that helped create the greatest economic crisis of our lifetime ... be critical on this," he said, adding that the president will "continue to engage with the business community."

Unemployment has dropped to 7.8 percent since Obama formed the council, but more than 12 million people are still without jobs.