WASHINGTON -- Facing a public deeply dissatisfied with his handling of the economy, President Obama tapped a prominent labor economist Monday to join his cadre of advisers and help steer a fall jobs agenda that will be critical to the President's re-election bid.

In nominating Princeton professor Alan Krueger as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Mr. Obama gains an economist with expertise in the labor market and unemployment, a key drag on the U.S. economy and Mr. Obama's presidency. Mr. Krueger, a former Treasury Department official, has advocated for hiring tax credits for businesses and increased government spending on infrastructure, two programs Mr. Obama aides are considering proposing.

His appointment also caps a makeover of Mr. Obama's economic leadership team during the past year. Several high-ranking advisers, including Lawrence Summers, Christina Romer, and Austan Goolsbee, have departed the administration, leaving Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as the only top official from the President's original economic team.

Mr. Obama has often reached within his administration's ranks to fill vacant posts on the economic team, and Mr. Krueger is no exception.

Although he spent last year at Princeton, he was assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during the first two years of Mr. Obama's administration.

Gregory Mankiw, a former Council of Economic Advisers chairman under President George W. Bush and longtime acquaintance of Mr. Krueger, said Mr. Obama's new nominee has a reputation as an analytic, data-driven economist, not as a champion for many specific policy initiatives. Although Mr. Mankiw said he believes Mr. Krueger is highly qualified for the post, he doesn't expect him to push the administration in any new directions when it comes to tackling the nation's economic and unemployment woes.

"This is more of a continuity appointment rather than a move-in-a-new-direction appointment," said Mr. Mankiw, now an economics professor at Harvard University. "I don't think the President wanted a change."

White House spokesman Jay Carney brushed off questions Monday about whether Mr. Krueger would bring any fresh job creation ideas to the White House, saying only that the President's nominee was the best person for the job.

"He's an excellent economist whose particular skills are more relevant than ever in the economic environment we find ourselves in," Mr. Carney said. "His expertise in the labor market is particularly relevant as we focus on the need to grow the economy and increase job creation."

Mr. Obama announced Mr. Krueger's nomination at a Rose Garden ceremony Monday morning and said he would rely on the economist for unvarnished guidance, not partisan political advice.

"That's more important than ever right now," Mr. Obama said. "We need folks in Washington to make decisions based on what's best for the country, not what's best for any political party or special interest."

The nomination is subject to Senate approval.

First Published August 30, 2011, 4:15 a.m.