By Josh Lederman

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is letting his jobs council expire, cutting off one source of input from business leaders while unemployment remains stubbornly high.

Obama formed the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in January 2011, when unemployment was about 9 percent. It’s now 7.8 percent, though more than 12 million people are out of work.

Obama’s executive order establishing the council said it would go out of business Jan. 31, 2013. The White House said Thursday that Obama had no plans to renew its charter.

White House officials said Obama intended for the council to fulfill its mission and then wind down, and that he would seek input about the economy from business leaders in other ways. Among the steps Obama plans to pursue are expedited permits for public works projects, plus programs to boost entrepreneurship and workforce development.

Even before Obama’s decision was clear, Republicans seized on the council’s likely expiration as evidence the president hadn’t spent enough time on trying to create jobs, which is a priority for Americans. The Republican National Committee called it part of “the failed Obama record,” while the House Republicans’ campaign committee, in an online petition, accused Obama of laying off his own jobs council.

The jobs council was a successor to an economic advisory board Obama created at the onset of his presidency. The panel was chaired by General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt and included prominent business leaders and economists. One member was Christopher Che, chief executive of the locally based Che International Group.