MONTPELIER — Vermont has seen 1,990 jobs created or saved from $55.97 million in federal stimulus money that has passed through state government, according to its first quarterly report to the federal government.
That comes out to about $28,000 per job for one-quarter of the year, or roughly $100,000 per job over the course of a year.
“Two thousand jobs is a significant number,” said Tom Evslin, the state chief recovery officer in charge of stimulus money.
The biggest chunk of jobs — 510 — was in a state Labor Department program for dislocated and disadvantaged workers. The money also accounted for 474 highway construction jobs.
Evslin stressed Wednesday that the tally includes only those jobs created or saved directly by money that passed through state government. Some of the money was targeted for saving public jobs that might otherwise have been cut or forced state or local budget cuts in other areas. Those included 421 jobs in public safety and 375 jobs in education.
The tally does not include $105 million in stimulus money for the state’s Medicaid budget, he said. Nor does it account for jobs created indirectly, such as from a supplier or a restaurant that saw increased business due to a stimulus project, Evslin said.
“I think these statistics tend to underestimate rather than overestimate,” Evslin said of overall jobs created by the stimulus money.
The state was required to report on direct job creation for specific stimulus money by last Saturday and has until Wednesday to check the numbers for accuracy before the federal government releases all states’ information Oct. 30. Evslin reported the preliminary information to state legislators Wednesday in a conference call.
Rep. Janet Ancel, D-Calais, one of two legislators appointed to follow the stimulus money, said it’s too early to tell whether Vermont is making the most of the money. “I tend to think overall we’re doing a good job to push the money out the door and put it to good use,” she said.
The federal government, on its stimulus Web site, reported Wednesday that Vermont has also seen 28 jobs created or saved through $12.7 million in stimulusfunded projects that did not go through state government. Funding for more of those types of projects, including applications from broadband providers, is pending.
Evslin said he thinks Vermont’s job creation stacks up well against other states.
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