First Round of ARRA Data Raises Reporting Issues for Jobs

Washington, Nov. 16 – October marked the first release of financial reports from recipients of Recovery Act grants and contracts, which many observers have hailed as a milestone for transparency in federal funding. However, within days of their release, multiple news agencies were claiming that many of the reports contained serious errors that undermined the reliability of the government’s tally of jobs created or saved.

A month ago, the first installment of Recovery Act Section 1512 reports indicated that federal contractors had created or saved approximately 30,000 jobs through September. Although that figure applied only to contract-funded projects, a relatively small portion of the overall program, the Obama administration cited the data as evidence that the Recovery Act is having a positive effect on the struggling labor market.