Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said today's jobs report is a ``troubling'' sign that the U.S. economy is weaker and ``decisive action'' must be taken to help people stay in their homes.

The U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs for the first time in more than four years, increasing the odds the economy will fall into a recession. Payrolls fell by 17,000 in January after an 82,000 gain in December that was larger than initially reported, the Labor Department said.

``There are certainly some troubling signs, serious signs that the economy is weakened and we've got to do something about it,'' Bush said after a tour of Hallmark Cards Inc. in Kansas City. He said the government has a responsibility to help homeowners who were ``deceived'' by their mortgage lenders.

``The government can help,'' Bush said, citing the Federal Housing Administration's capacity to help refinance loans. ``We're not going to bail out the lenders,'' but rather help people ``stay in the home they have,'' he said.

Employment is one indicator, along with wages, production and sales, that helps determine the start of economic contractions. The decline poses a further threat to consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, after households were already hurt by falling home and stock values.

Stimulus Plan

Bush urged the Senate to quickly to pass an economic stimulus plan. The Senate Finance Committee this week approved a plan that would offer tax rebates to low-income seniors and individuals making as much as $150,000 a year.

If the legislation is approved by the full Senate, lawmakers would have to reconcile differences with more restricted bipartisan legislation that the House passed earlier.

Speedy congressional passage of a stimulus plan is essential, Bush said.

``The sooner we can get money into our consumers' hands, the more likely it is that this economy will get back, recover from this uncertainty,'' he said.

Bush said the U.S. economy's fundamentals are ``strong.''

``We're just in a rough patch,'' he said. ``And I'm confident we can get through this rough patch, and one way to do it is for Congress and the administration to work collaboratively and get this deal done.''

The president also renewed his call on Congress to make permanent the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 that expire in two years.

``Raising taxes in a time of economic uncertainty would be bad for the economy and bad for our people,'' he said. Increased taxes ``could change your behavior, it could cause people to roll back and not be confident about their future.''

Bush also pressed Congress to adopt free-trade agreements pending with Colombia, Panama and South Korea that abolish tariffs and trade barriers that he said results in U.S. jobs.

``I'm concerned about protectionism, and so should you, because if we end up having trade wars, it'd be less likely that Hallmark products would be sold overseas,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Holly Rosenkrantz in Kansas City, Missouri at 4547 or hroseknrantz@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 1, 2008 17:50 EST