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WASHINGTON – Fifty-seven people in northeast Indiana got a job – or were spared a pink slip – so far this year because of the government’s stimulus program, the government reported Friday.
It was the smallest job gain or employment preservation reported in the state’s nine congressional districts. The region has some of the highest unemployment rates in the state – except for Allen County, the seven other counties in northeast Indiana registered jobless rates last month of 11 percent to 15 percent.
In all, the $3 billion in grants, contracts and loans that went to Hoosiers or Indiana businesses created or saved 18,877 jobs since the economy-saving program begin, the government said.
Nationwide, the Obama administration said, the first few months of spending from the $787 billion stimulus program created or saved 640,000 jobs.
Vice President Biden said the program created or saved an additional 400,000 jobs – the harder-to-count jobs created as a result of extra economic activity – putting the total more than 1 million.
The government does not distinguish between jobs that were created because of the program and the jobs people didn’t lose.
“The recovery act is performing as advertised, playing its part in lifting Americans back up,” Biden said at a news conference.
The White House said the 640,000 figure puts the country on track to meeting the goal of 3.5 million jobs created or saved over the three-year span of the stimulus package.
The information released does not include much of the package’s spending – tax cuts, safety-net spending and fiscal aid to states.
The largest portion of the $3 billion sent to Indiana was distributed as grants to the state, $2.8 million. The money was sent to school districts, used for highway projects, allocated to cities and towns for sewer and other infrastructure projects, and spent on energy research.
The government said the grants created or saved 18,369 Hoosier jobs.
The stimulus money provided $157.8 million in contracts. The money created or saved 381 jobs.
Nearly $56 million in loans – often from the Small Business Administration – accounted for 127 new or preserved jobs.
