White House: 650,000 Jobs Exist Because of Stimulus

White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein has been reporting the highlights of new data on stimulus job savings/creation in advance of this afternoon's report, and the magic number is 650,000. Considering that that number, however, accounts for less than half of the spending through the reporting date, the White House estimates the number is actually more like 1 million jobs created or saved so far.

[See more on the unemployment extension bill.]

The Obama administration is also pointing to yesterday's GDP report, which showed 3.5 percent growth in the third quarter, as evidence the stimulus is working.

Fuller reports on stimulus job creation will be posted on the Recovery.gov website this afternoon. These reports reflect data from 112,000 reports from recipients of stimulus grants, contracts, and loans, submitted either through their state governments or by recipients themselves, according to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.

Remember, President Obama's goal was to save or create 3 to 4 million by the end of next year. In January, Administration economists warned in a report that "because it takes time to carry out new spending programs authorized by legislation, we expect the jobs created by spending on infrastructure, education, health, and energy to be concentrated in 2010 and 2011."