Obama hails new jobs added in February

PETERSBURG, Va., March 9 (UPI) -- President Obama touted a report the United States gained 233,000 private-sector jobs last month in a visit Friday to an aircraft parts plant in Virginia.

The president told workers at the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe plant in Petersburg the country appears to be on the rebound from a devastating economic slump.

"And manufacturing is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s," he said. "We just had another good month last month in terms of adding manufacturing jobs. And this facility is part of the evidence of what's going on all across the country. This company is about to hire more than 200 new workers -- 140 of them right here in Petersburg, Va."

With the state's Republican governor, Bob McDonnell, in the audience, Obama said he is pushing a federal program like one that already exists in Virginia. The president said the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership will bring together innovative companies and engineering schools to work on new technologies.