Black members of Congress pressed President Barack Obama on Thursday for a greater focus on creating jobs in urban areas where unemployment is often highest. Obama said he was trying to fix the economy as a whole, said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Minority populations are more likely to rely on Social Security as their only source of retirement benefits, according to various studies by the AARP.

The government says that a bad economy has shortened the life of the trust funds that support the nation's two biggest benefit programs.

Congress is putting off changes to Social Security, but the massive retirement and disability program still faces long-term financial problems from an aging population and an economy that has been slow to rebound.