U.S. President Barack Obama has not given up the fight to create 1.9 million more jobs in the country despite the Republican block of his $447-billion jobs bill in the Senate on Tuesday night.

"Tonight's vote is by no means the end of this fight.... We will now work with Senator Reid to make sure that the individual proposals in this jobs bill get a vote as soon as possible," Fox News quoted Obama.

The Senate voted 50 to 48. Although it was still a majority, the vote was still short of 60 votes to advance the jobs bill in the Upper House, which has 100 members. The jobs bill was defeated despite Obama spending several weeks promoting the jobs bill in a campaign tour across the U.S. Two Democrats and 46 Republicans voted against the measure.

The Democrats who voted against the jobs bill are Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Montana Sen. Jon Testor, who are likely to face tough re-election campaigns in 2012.

"I think they'll have a hard time explaining why they voted no on this bill -- other than the fact that I proposed it," BBC quoted Obama's earlier union address in Pennsylvania.

Besides the President himself campaigning for the jobs bill, the White House also wrote to 16 Democratic governors to urge their congressional leaders to pass the bill, which promised to help provide employment to Americans without worsening Washington's growing budget deficit.

The jobs bill proposed payroll tax cuts for employees and businesses, and $175 billion spending on roads, school repairs and infrastructure to create work opportunities. It also provides unemployment assistance and help to local government so it can avoid layoff of teachers, firefighters and police.

However, the Republicans voted against the jobs bill because it is similar to a stimulus plan that the federal government approved in 2009, which they argued failed to boost America's sagging economy.

With the jobs bill's death in the Lower and Upper Houses, Obama said he would break the legislation into pieces by pushing for an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. The second attempt at job creation seeks to reduce the country's 9.1 per cent unemployment rate.