March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Former Washington Governor Gary Locke will take over as U.S. commerce secretary amid a global recession that is sapping jobs at home and damping demand for exports overseas.

President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Commerce Department was approved in the U.S. Senate late yesterday by unanimous consent. Locke, 59, will lead a Cabinet department of about 40,000 people with diffuse roles, including compiling economic data, protecting fisheries, adjudicating trade complaints and running the 2010 national Census.

He takes over as exports have slumped at a 44 percent annual pace in the most recent six months of government data and the U.S. has lost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Locke said at his confirmation hearing last week he intends to reduce the trade deficit, open new markets and direct resources to saving jobs and boosting economic growth.

“We must look over the horizon and prepare for the new economy that will emerge when this recession passes,” Locke told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on March 18. “More than free trade, I believe in fair trade,” he said.

Locke also pledged to conduct a Census free of political interference. The Census, conducted once every 10 years, is politically sensitive in part because it is used to reapportion congressional districts.

Locke was Obama’s third choice for commerce secretary after New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democrat, and Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, withdrew. He is filling the seat vacated by Carlos Gutierrez after Obama took office in January.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 25, 2009 00:00 EDT