Feds boast of 9,200 new jobs here

By John Boyanoski  

JANUARY 26, 2010 11:12 a.m. (0)

The federal government is expected to announce later this week that 9,200 jobs have been created or saved in South Carolina due to the American Recovery Act being enacted almost one year ago.

However, the exact details of what those jobs were and who got them is somewhat of a mystery, and one that is open to speculation, said Richard Eckstrom, South Carolina’s comptroller general.

Eckstrom, whose elected position essentially makes him the state’s accountant, said that at least 2,600 of the jobs announced in fall were for temporary work for college students and at least 100 were used to give raises to state employees, who haven’t received them in several years.

The state’s unemployment rate hit 12.6 percent at the end of December, which is up from 11 percent when the stimulus bill was passed in February.

Eckstrom said he brought up the idea of not counting temporary jobs and raises while at a meeting of American governors in the fall, but that proposal was shot down by the White House.

He expects to release his own list of job creations sometime next week after getting in files from all 23 state agencies that have received a combined $1.1 billion so far from the federal government.

Based on the projections when the Stimulus Act was passed last year, Eckstrom believes South Carolina agencies will receive $3.2 billion over time. The federal government puts the number closer to $3.8 billion. That does not include money given to cities and counties.

According to the federal government's official stimulus Web Site, 8,147 jobs were created or saved as of Oct. 30. That number drew heavy complaints from stimulus detractors noting that many job totals were tallied for non-existent congressional districts.

The Web site also states that 640,329 jobs nationwide have been created or saved since the act when into place. That includes 640.41 jobs, which the federal government can not say where they are located.

South Carolina’s job total as of Oct. 30 was better than 34 states and territories, but behind Puerto Rico, which had received 17,597.48 jobs.

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