US President Barack Obama signs the Hire act in the rose garden at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, March 18, 2010. Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law the Hire Act, a bill that will spur job growth and strengthen the private sector by encouraging businesses to hire new workers and invest in their companies and communities. The legislation includes about US$18 billion in tax breaks and US$20 billion into highway and transit programs. [Xinhua]

US President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law the Hire Act, a bill that aims at spurring job growth and strengthening the private sector by encouraging businesses to hire new workers and invest in their companies and communities.

Obama said the legislation will help the private sector -- "the true engine of job creation" in the United States.

The legislation includes about US$18 billion in tax breaks and US$20 billion into highway and transit programs.

It is the first in a series proposed by the Obama administration to boost the ailing job market.

Obama said that "while this jobs bill is absolutely necessary, it is by no means enough."

He said that the great recession took a terrible toll on the middle class and on the US economy as a whole.

It has cost about 8.4 million Americans out of work, and the total unemployed population are about 15 million. Unemployment rate, currently at 9.7 percent, is widely predicted to keep at high level this year.

Obama said that partly because of the government's stimulus plan over the past year, the US economy is now growing again and the country will soon be adding jobs instead of losing them.

The president believes that the jobs bill he signed will help accelerate the process.

Again, he encouraged the private sector to take the responsibility.

"The solution to our economic problems will not come from government alone," Obama said. "Government can't create all the jobs we need or can it repair all the damage that's been done by this recession."

"There is a lot more we need to do to spur hiring in the private sector and bring about full economic recovery," he said.

However, many experts are skeptical that the new law will do much to actually create jobs. Optimistic estimates predict the tax break could generate perhaps 250,000 jobs through the end of the year, which will be just a small proportion of the overall lost jobs.

The US Senate made a 68-29 bipartisan vote on Wednesday and paved the way for the President's signing the bill into law.