ENR reports that White House figures say the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has produced or saved an estimated 168,000 construction-sector jobs through the end of 2009.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers says that, as of Nov. 30, ARRA funded highway and transit projects alone have created or preserved more than 250,000 “direct, on-project jobs.” The committee says those jobs come from 8,587 highway and transit projects worth $19.7 billion that are under construction.

But despite the stimulus measure’s impact, the overall unemployment rate in the construction industry increased in December to 22.7%, the highest number since at least 2000, as construction lost another 53,000 jobs.

Construction economists say ARRA-related jobs gains in the industry have been more than offset by losses in non-residential construction and public works funded by state and local governments.

ENR ©January 13, 2010