GE CEO to Head Obama's Job Council

President Barack Obama is restructuring his economic advisory board to place an emphasis on job creation, and he is naming General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt as its new head. The new board, called the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, will replace the former Economic Recovery Advisory Board that had been chaired by the departing Paul Volcker.

Obama officially announced the ex-Fed chair's resignation last night, praising him as "one of the wisest economic minds in our country," and saying he'd continue to "rely on his council for years to come." The change signals a shift from policies designed to stabilize the economy after the financial meltdown to a renewed focus on increasing employment. The White House says the board will focus on gathering job-boosting ideas from the private sector. (More Jeffrey Immelt stories.)