House Democratic leaders are asking committee chairmen to offer proposals for creating jobs that can be wrapped into a bill and enacted by year’s end, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Tuesday.

Hoyer said he hopes a jobs bill could be moved by the House’s target adjournment date of Dec. 18 — a marker that could slip, depending on the status of health care legislation moving through Congress.

“We are moving ahead at a pace that hopefully will allow us to do something in the next three weeks,” he said.

The package is almost certain to include extensions of expanded unemployment and health benefits that were included in the economic stimulus law Congress enacted in February. Beyond that, Democrats are considering more funding for highway and other infrastructure projects they believe can create jobs quickly — even though economists warn there can be significant lag time between when funding is authorized and when the projects commence.

Lawmakers also continue to discuss providing more aid to state governments facing budget shortfalls, and offering new tax incentives, including one for businesses that add employees.

With the unemployment rate at 10.2 percent — the highest since 1983 — Democrats are increasingly worried that the weak labor market will spell trouble for incumbents in the 2010 elections.

“Clearly 10.2 percent unemployment is unacceptable and is causing great pain to literally millions of people around the country,” Hoyer said.

Passing a jobs bill before the end of the year would allow nervous members to show constituents that the House is on the case and trying to reverse the downturn.

Democrats want to avoid calling the bill an economic stimulus measure, in an effort to focus the debate on jobs rather than economic growth.

“I wouldn’t characterize it as a second stimulus I don’t think it will be as broad as that, I think will be very targeted on jobs,” Hoyer said.