Stimulus Jobs

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By Brenda Bassett

Story Published: Nov 2, 2009 at 7:25 PM MST

Story Updated: Nov 2, 2009 at 7:25 PM MST

BILLINGS - Montana officials report federal stimulus spending has saved or created more than 4,000 jobs.

The Governor's office reports that the early stimulus spending numbers don't paint a true picture of job growth in Montana. Officials said state data comes in slowly and Montana is a hard state to categorize because it's so rural and has many different economic drivers.

Partick Barkey, Director and economic forecaster for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said it's just too early to say.

"It strikes me as rather early to try and assess what the impact of the stimulus has been. The stimulus has a long ways to go in terms of how much money has to be spent. Employment is always the last thing to come around in the economic recovery. Its going to be well into next year before we can finally see the full effect," said Barkey.

Barkey said construction has been one industry that suffers in Montana. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds projects like the Shiloh Road reconstruction, which has helped local contractors.

Only a small portion of the $800-million dollar stimulus plan has been spent in Montana. Officials reported that the majority of jobs created have been in government and education ranging from administrators to research assistants.

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