US Congress approves 18-billion-dollar jobs package

Mar 17, 2010, 23:12 GMT

Washington - The US Congress approved a nearly 18-billion- dollar package of incentives Wednesday to help revive the struggling labour market.

The Senate approved the HIRE Act by 68-29, sending the measure to President Barack Obama for signature after months of wrangling. The House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this month.

'It is the first of what I hope will be a series of jobs packages that help to continue to put people back to work all across America,' Obama said after a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.

The US unemployment rate stood at 9.7 per cent in February, near a quarter-century high, even as the world's largest economy has begun growing again after a deep recession.

The package approved Wednesday includes tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers and extends infrastructure spending, though some Republicans opposed the bill for adding to an already dangerously high federal budget deficit.

The high jobless rate has put pressure on Obama and his fellow Democrats to take further steps to encourage hiring. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, said the measure would create 300,000 jobs.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said the labour market was 'stabilizing,' though the White House has predicted that unemployment will still be more than 9 per cent by the end of next year.