White House: Stimulus Boosted Economy, Jobs

President's Council of Economic Advisers issued a report concluding that the contentious law that targeted the recession has been a significant factor in the recovery.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House says the $800 billion stimulus law passed in the early days of the Obama administration continues to improve economic conditions and increase employment.

President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers issued a report Thursday concluding that the contentious law that targeted the recession has been a significant factor in the recovery.

The report says the stimulus has created or saved 2.7 million to 3.7 million jobs through the third quarter of this year. Obama economists predicted in early 2009 that the stimulus would save or create 3.5 million jobs

Unemployment, however, is 9.6 percent. And the report comes after an election in which voters appeared to reject assertions by Obama and Democrats that they had pulled the country out of an economic quagmire.

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