He also called for "new models" of economic growth to help avoid a repeat of what he said was the debt-driven expansion of the past.
"We anticipate that we're going to continue to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come," the president said during a meeting with several of his top economic advisers.
There is "always a lag of several months between businesses starting to make profits again and investing again and them actually rehiring again."
Obama also said, however, he's confident "that having moved the economy on the right track ... there's no reason why we're not going to be able to not only create jobs, but the kind of sustainable economic growth that everybody's looking for."
The White House has highlighted several indicators of economic stabilization over the past week. Among other things, administration officials have argued that the Democrats' controversial $787 billion economic stimulus program helped stave off a depression and spark 3.5% growth in the third quarter.
On Friday, the administration released a report claiming the program helped create or saved over 640,000 jobs.
Republicans questioned the validity of the White House report, saying it exaggerated the program's effectiveness. Each new job, critics charged, cost $248,000 to create.
The Commerce Department said construction spending rose unexpectedly in October by almost 1%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were anticipating a 0.5% decline.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors reported pending home sales rose much more than expected, by 6.1%, in September. Analysts were looking for a 1.2% increase.
Unemployment, however, is currently close to 10%, and has continued to rise in recent months.
Federal aid drives economic growthJob Growth
