Recovery Act Has Created or Saved 1.5 to 2 Million Jobs

 

While the hard-hit construction industry continues to lose jobs, public construction (including transportation projects) is rebounding as a result of recovery act investments.

The Obama administration issued a report stating the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has saved or created 1.5 million to 2 million jobs in its first 11 months of spending.

These latest figures came from the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Although the nation’s unemployment rate remains at 10 percent and the economy lost 85,000 net jobs in December, the administration contends the economy would not be entering a recovery if it were not for the $787 billion recovery package that Congress passed last February.

Construction employment fell by 53,500 jobs in December; the unemployment rate for construction workers is 22.7 percent. However, public construction, fueled by recovery act dollars, was 5.7 percent higher in November 2009 than the previous November. Look to the public sector to land landscape bids, as the public sector seems to be more vibrant than the private sector. ?EUR??,,????'?????<