“[T]he failure to do a major stimulus bill [in 2009] surely would have pushed us into very serious recession or worse, and the stimulus that did get enacted helped spur some economic recovery. The economy is doing much better than it did in 2008 and 2009.”
– Norman Ornstein, 6/23/2010
Economy Highlight:
• The Labor Department reported that the “number of people filing new claims for unemployment insurance fell last week and large-scale layoffs for May hit the lowest level since the earliest days of the recession [April 2008],” both encouraging signs of our economic recovery. According to the same report, “Manufacturing companies cut the fewest jobs since the Labor Department started keeping track of the data in 1995.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/25/2010 [1]]
Recovery Highlights:
• As part of the White House's “Recovery Summer [2]” tour, this week Vice President Biden traveled to Midland, Michigan, to discuss how Recovery Act investments are strengthening communities and creating jobs across the country. The Vice President participated in the groundbreaking of a new battery plant “that is expected to employ about 720 people when it is completed in 2015. The plant is one of several advanced battery plants under way in the state, and is among several battery plants to receive $2.4 billion in federal grants.” [Detroit Free Press, 6/21/2010 [3]]
• Around the nation, the “Recovery Summer [2]” is in full swing, with Recovery Act funding helping put Americans back to work and grow state and local economies. This week, the Kansas Department of Transportation reported that the “number of recovery act jobs related to transportation projects in Kansas rose 13 percent from April to May…. The 3,375 jobs recorded in May also represents a 47 percent increase in the total number of recovery act jobs since the start of the construction season in March.” [Wichita Business Journal (KS), 6/22/2010 [4]]