US President Barack Obama 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.