US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama is to discuss jobs in his final state of the union address tomorrow.

Reuters reports that the issue of employment will top Obama’s speech tomorrow morning, following a poll that shows he appears to be losing the support of independent voters.

Housing as well as tax policies aimed at keeping jobs in the United States are also expected to be discussed.

The annual address to the nation, required under the US constitution to be given by the president, has become more politicised in recent year as election campaigns kick off earlier and earlier, according to the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the White House said Monday that it’s delaying for one week the release of President Barack Obama’s budget for the 2013 fiscal year that starts 1 October.

The budget is traditionally released on the first Monday in February — which is 6 February — but the administration has pushed the release to 13 February. An administration official said the later date was “determined based on the need to finalise decisions and technical details of the document.”

After last year’s failed attempts at budget deals, election-year expectations are low that Obama and Congress will be able to make progress this year on deficits that required the government to borrow 36 cents of every dollar it spent last year.

Additional reporting by the AP

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