![3D"Yahoo!](3D"http://l.yimg.com/a/i/brand/purplelogo/uh/us/news.gif")
WASHINGTON (AFP) =E2=80=93 A bumper US employment report published = Friday showed the=20 troubled jobs market cranked up a gear last month, raising hopes that a = final=20 piece of the recovery puzzle is falling into place.
The Labor Department said the unemployment rate dipped to 8.9 percent = in=20 February from 9.0 percent the month before, while the economy created a = solid=20 192,000 jobs.
If that trend continues in the next few months, "the employment = situation in=20 the United States would be well on its way to recovery," according to = Jason=20 Schenker of Prestige Economics.
It was the first time the unemployment rate has fallen below nine = percent in=20 nearly two years.
The new numbers were much better than the anemic 63,000 jobs created = in=20 January, and capped three months that have seen the unemployment rate = fall by=20 almost a percentage point.
President Barack Obama lauded the report: "This morning we learned = that the=20 unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly two years," he told = an=20 audience in Miami.
"Our economy has now added 1.5 million private-sector jobs over the = last year=20 and that's progress."
Amid fears over rising oil prices, the strong report raised optimism = that=20 higher prices can be absorbed without doing too much damage to vital = consumer=20 spending and without denting company profits.
According to the American Automobile Association, gasoline pump = prices have=20 increased by about 18 cents a gallon (3.8 liters) to an average $3.47 in = the=20 last week alone.
The report also increased confidence that government layoffs can be = offset by=20 a resurgence in private-sector hiring.
As federal and state authorities cut costs in the face of mounting = debt, some=20 30,000 government workers were laid off in February.
But those losses were more than offset by private companies creating = 222,000=20 jobs, much to the relief of the White House and the millions of = Americans who=20 are struggling to get back on their feet.
"The labor market may not be great just yet but it is firming and = that is=20 good news for job seekers," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic = Advisors.
Since the recession ended in June 2009, it has seemed like the = world's=20 largest economy has taken two steps forward and one step back.
Last year, debt crises in Europe threatened to derail the recovery on = both=20 sides of the Atlantic.
Today, rising global oil prices and cuts to government spending at = home=20 threaten to make life tougher.
In the interim, US unemployment has remained stubbornly high and the = housing=20 market has been moribund, leaving two pillars of the economy looking = like=20 Corinthian relics -- no longer fit to carry the load.
House of Representatives Republican leader Eric Cantor said Friday's = report=20 was an "encouraging sign that businesses are beginning to hire and = people are=20 getting back to work."=20
Still, after watching some 8.75 million jobs disappear during the = recession,=20 millions are still out of work and many experts fear the economy remains = vulnerable.=20
"Tempering the positive tone of today's report was unexpected = weakness in=20 hours and average hourly earnings, which suggests a bit less growth of = consumer=20 spending in the first half than we previously expected," said analysts = at=20 Macroeconomic Advisers.=20
And according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, = the=20 number of job cuts announced by US-based firms increased for the second=20 consecutive month in February.=20
"It is too soon to say whether the increases in January and now = February=20 represent a trend," said chief executive John Challenger.=20
"Certainly the specter of rising gas prices could impact employers' = staffing=20 decisions over the next six months," he added.