Stimulus credited with creating or saving 5,800 Utah jobs in 2nd quarter

SALT LAKE CITY — Just more than 5,800 jobs were created or saved in Utah by federal stimulus funding over the past three months, according to figures released Friday.

It's a steep drop from the 25,000 jobs reported by state and local recipients of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for the first quarter of 2010.

"The ARRA program is winding down," said Mike Mower, Gov. Gary Herbert's state planning coordinator and stimulus czar.

Mower said the jobs paid for through the stimulus dollars haven't put much of a dent in the state's unemployment rate, which hit 7.2 percent in June, with about 90,000 Utahns out of work.

"If you have one of those positions, it's very significant," Mower noted. "Overall, however, it does not have a major impact on our state unemployment numbers."

Data posted late Friday afternoon to the website www.recovery.gov showed more than 755,000 jobs were created or saved nationally in the second quarter of the year. California reported the most, at about 83,000, and Wyoming the least, at almost 1,300.

Utah already had received nearly $1.1 billion of the $219 billion in stimulus funds awarded nationally since the act was passed in 2009. Utah has been awarded a total of $2 billion in stimulus funds, according to the new data.

Most of Utah's stimulus money is going to state government, which reported spending all but $400 million of the $1.6 billion expected. The rest of the cash coming to the state is going to local government entities.

Utah reported creating or saving more than 4,000 jobs at the state level alone, including more than 1,000 jobs in higher education and about 110 for a weatherization assistance program.

"While we recognize there will be long-term costs to the taxpayers for the ARRA program, there certainly have been short-term benefits," Mower said.

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