WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting an economic recovery slowed by persistent joblessness, President Barack Obama on Friday won commitments from nearly 300 companies to reach out to the nearly 4 million Americans who have been jobless for half a year or more.

“It’s a cruel Catch-22,” Obama said at a White House event with CEOs, job training groups and and advocates for the unemployed. “The longer you’re unemployed, the more unemployable you may seem.”