Washington, Jan 8 (IANS): US President Barack Obama has vowed to continue his efforts to create more jobs amid heartening news that the unemployment rate has declined to its lowest level in nearly three years.

"We're heading in the right direction. And we're not going to let up," Xinhua quoted Obama as saying in his weekly radio and internet address.

The latest labour department report said that 200,000 jobs were added in December.

The report came amid a flurry of positive economic news, including an increase in consumer confidence and production by factories, which showed that the US recovery was gathering momentum. It was the sixth consecutive month that more jobs were created.

Acknowledging that his biggest challenge was rebuilding the economy, Obama said "the most important thing we need to do is get more Americans back to work".

"Because this is a make or break moment for the middle class and all those working to get there. We've got to keep at it. We've got to keep creating jobs. And we've got to keep rebuilding our economy so that everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share," the president said.