U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed jobs figures on Friday as evidence that the economy was turning the corner, but he said it would take time to achieve sustained job growth that the country needs.

Obama said he hoped the United States would finish up a broad overhaul of financial regulation in the next "several weeks."

Congress is currently considering legislation that would set strong new rules to govern the financial sector.

U.S. employers created jobs in March at the fastest rate in three years as private firms stepped up hiring, the strongest signal yet that the economic recovery is on a solid footing and needs less government help.

Obama said it was the best news on the jobs front in two years.

Reuters