The number of jobs supported by U.S. exports have grown by 1.2 million since 2009, government figures released on the two-year anniversary of the national export initiative showed.

The increase brought to 9.7 million the number of positions in 2011 that were influenced by overseas sales of American goods and services, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington. Exports jumped to a record $2.1 trillion last year, up 34 percent from 2009, it said.

President Barack Obama has set a goal of doubling exports in five years, a target he outlined two years ago this week. Efforts to reach the objective by 2014 include the U.S.-Korea trade agreement that becomes effective on March 15 and may lift sales to overseas customers by about $11 billion while supporting “tens of thousands” of American jobs, the report said.

Since the national export initiative began in 2010, the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration has assisted more than 9,200 U.S. companies in boosting sales overseas, including helping 6,000 firms last year to sell abroad for the first time or expand into new markets.