In this Oct. 25, 2010, file photo diners sit on a high-rise terrace overlooking San Juan, Puerto Rico. Cheering crowds in the steamy tropical heat are expected Tuesday, June 14, 2011, when President Barack Obama makes the first in decades by a president to the U.S. Caribbean territory. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is pushing for more private sector hiring while seeking to protect his own job during a two-day trip that aims to raise his political profile in key states and with an important Hispanic constituency.

In North Carolina on Monday, the president will meet with his Jobs and Competitiveness Council and promote more jobs in targeted industries. Later, he will attend three fundraisers in donor-rich Miami. He will end his travels Tuesday in Puerto Rico.

In an opinion piece published Monday in The Wall Street Journal, General Electric chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, the head of Obama's jobs council, and American Express CEO and chairman Ken Chennault laid out a job plan that included easing visa applications to attract more tourists and increasing energy efficiency in commercial buildings.