President Obama's Friday Schedule

Mr. Obama will finish the week in North Carolina, where he is expected to discuss the economy and jobs after touring Celgard, a battery manufacturer. The President will make remarks at 11:55 ET in Charlotte.

Since taking office, the President has made two trips to the Tar Heel State, which he won by a narrow margin in 2008.

At a Raleigh townhall meeting in July, Mr. Obama stopped short of declaring all out victory when it came to the economy. "We have stopped the freefall. The market is up and the financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse," he told the audience. "We may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession. But that's little comfort if you're one of the folks who have lost their job and haven't found another."

North Carolina has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. At 11.2% it ranks ninth in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Obama administration has directed over $11 million of Recovery Act funds to North Carolina through the Federal Transit Administration for transportation and infrastructure projects. The 10,000th Recovery Act project will break ground in North Carolina and create 45 new jobs, according to a March 18 White House release.