How will job creation be monitored?
A requirement of the American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 is for reporting jobs created through use of funds authorized and allocated under the Act. Section 1512 (Reports on Use of Funds) of the Act specifically requires quarterly reports of job creation, including posting these reports on a web site. Section 1512(g) indicates that "Federal agencies, in coordination with the Office of Management and the Budget, shall provide user-friendly means for recipients of covered funds to meet the requirements of this section." The meaning of this requirement in practice remains unclear.
A brief video presentation by Greg Alward describes analytical tools that could help meet these reporting requirements (click image to view):
This is the same software that we use at the Penn State Workforce Education & Development Initiative to create our Economic & Workforce Brief series and to perform other economic impact estimates.
David Passmore