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>Among the options Obama is considering is a version of a tax credit for new hires that could spur the creation of 900,000 additional jobs at a cost of $30 billion, according to an estimate by Michael Greenstone, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former chief economist for Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.

“It allows the private sector to lead the economy toward the areas where the payoffs are greatest,” Greenstone said.

In discussions with the president, Obama’s economic team has strongly backed a tax incentive for new hires, said a person familiar with the deliberations.

Even so, the president’s capacity to dramatically improve the economy is limited after an $830 billion fiscal stimulus and almost three years of accommodative monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. Obama also confronts political constraints from Republicans in Congress opposed to further federal spending.