White House: Data shows stimulus saved, created 650,000 jobs

The Obama administration said data released Friday will show the $787 billion stimulus package saved or created about 650,000 jobs this year.

The administration plans to post Friday afternoon on its stimulus website, Recovery.gov, reports submitted by recipients of stimulus money that tally how many jobs the package is responsible for. Administration officials said that the 650,000 jobs number is in line with its own estimates and projections by independent forecasters, such as Moody's and the Congressional Budget Office, that the stimulus has saved or created about 1 million jobs since it was passed in February.

The data doesn't include the thousands of jobs created or saved indirectly, through tax cuts, unemployment benefits, Pell Grants and other payments given through the stimulus.

The data will show the jobs that have directly come from about $150 billion in spending on infrastructure, highway and other construction projects, the administration officials said. About $339 billion in stimulus money has been spent so far.

Republicans have cast skepticism on economic models showing roughly 1 million stimulus jobs, pointing instead to the hard count. Two weeks ago, GOP lawmakers highlighted Recovery.gov reports of stimulus contract recipients showing about 30,000 jobs created or saved from about $16 billion in spending. But Obama administration economists have warned for months that the hard counts would underestimate the number of stimulus jobs because they didn't account for the package's indirect effects.