President Barack Obama on Thursday said he will host a White House conference on the economy in December, with a goal of trying jump-start hiring as the economy begins to turn around.Obama, who appeared briefly at the White House before departing on a trip to Asia, spoke amid a steady drumbeat from Republicans about the “jobless— recovery. A high-profile session on jobs will help the White House showcase the president’s concern about continued job losses.“The economic growth that we’ve seen has not yet led to the job growth that we desperately need,— Obama said. “Hiring often takes time to catch up to economic growth.—The president said the conference would include business CEOs, small-business owners, union officials, economists and leaders of nonprofit organizations.The president added that he will seek to open markets for U.S. products during his Asia trip.