Auditors note problems in Recovery Act jobs numbers

By Lisa Mascaro

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 | 5:06 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Government auditors have found significant problems in reporting the number of jobs created or saved by the Recovery Act, the Obama administration’s signature effort to improve the economy, according to a report released Thursday.

The Government Accountability Office found wide variance in the standards used by state and local agencies to report jobs to the federal independent oversight panel, leaving questions about the accuracy of the numbers.

The White House has said 640,000 jobs have been saved or created by the Recovery Act, including more than 5,600 in Nevada -- a number that critics, namely congressional Republicans who opposed the legislation, have pounced on as unsupportable.

The debate over whether the stimulus is working continues to provide great political fodder in Washington and Nevada, where both sides are in a tug of war to capture public opinion.

The report released Thursday said, “While recipients GAO contacted appear to have made good faith efforts to ensure complete and accurate reporting, GAO’s fieldwork and initial review and analysis of recipient data from www.recovery.gov, indicate that there are a range of significant reporting and quality issues that need to be addressed.”

The accountability office found nearly 4,000 reports filed to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the independent oversight panel, showed no funds received or expended, but more than 50,000 jobs created or retained.

It also found more than 9,000 reports with no jobs reported, but nearly $1 billion expended.

One main problem is the different ways agencies are counting full-time employees – for example, whether the position was filled for a few months or a full year.

The accountability office report recommended the White House establish a standardized method for defining full-time jobs.

Under the Recovery Act passed by Congress and signed into law in February, agencies are required to report their job estimates, in some cases by contacting the private businesses that received contracts for government funds.

The accountability office found shortcomings particularly in education and housing agencies, which lacked experience in jobs reporting.

The law also requires the GAO to review the reports for accuracy. The report provided a snapshot taken after the reporting period that ended Oct. 30. It surveyed part of the $47 billion expended so far on contracts, grants and loans – about 25 percent of the total spending so far. (Those receiving tax breaks, unemployment benefits or other aid through the Recovery Act do not report to the panel.)

The White House called the errors “frustrating and a distraction,” but noted that errors accounted for less than 5 percent of overall data.

“People are stirring this pot to discredit the process,” said Ed DeSeve, senior advisor to the president for Recovery Act Implementation, during an evening conference call with reporters. “The American people care a lot more about our success in creating jobs then our precision in reporting jobs.”

A House oversight panel held a hearing on the findings today. News stories on the hearing and the report’s findings can be found here and here.