WASHINGTON, USA:  US President Barack Obama on Thursday signed a nearly $18-billion jobs bill into law, hoping the measure will be the first of many to bring the labour market out of a long slump.

The HIRE act contains about $13 billion worth of tax incentives for small businesses to hire new workers and another $5 billion in extensions of infrastructure spending.

Obama, who signed the bill at the White House, said the jobs stimulus would "promote a strong dynamic private sector" to help reduce unemployment, which remained at 9.7 percent in February.

"A consensus is forming that ... our economy is now growing again and we may soon be adding jobs instead of losing them," Obama said. The jobs bill was "necessary," but "by no means enough" to help speed up that process.

Obama signed the bill after the US Senate approved the HIRE Act Wednesday by 68-29 after months of wrangling. The House of Representatives passed the bill earlier in March.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama has been forced to postpone until June a trip to Asia, as his fellow Democrats scrambled for support Thursday ahead of a final vote on health care reform as early as this weekend in the House of Representatives.

Obama had been set to leave Sunday on a trip to Indonesia and Australia after already delaying his departure by a few days. Spokesman Robert Gibbs cited the critical health care vote in the House as the chief reason for the president's decision to remain in Washington.
©IANS