Bulk of Stimulus Spending Yet to Come

Most Cash So Far Has Gone to Services, Government Jobs; Infrastructure Surge Unlikely to Put Big Dent in Unemployment

By LOUISE RADNOFSKY
Associated Press

Stimulus money has subsidized the jobs of 325,000 teachers and schools staff, government data indicate. First-graders read aloud Friday in Vallejo, Calif.

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration's economic-stimulus program has delivered about a third of its total $787 billion budget during its first year, much of that to maintain social services and government jobs and to provide tax cuts for workers. Now, the pace and direction of stimulus spending are about to change.

Infrastructure spending is set to step up in the second year of the stimulus program, which should mean more money flowing to private-sector employers. Still, economists say that won't likely have a big effect on the unemployment rate, which most say is likely to continue a slow decline as the broader economy recovers.

The shift could be significant politically, though, because Republicans have criticized the relative lack of private business hiring directly attributed to the stimulus.

The approach this week of the stimulus program's one-year anniversary sparked a fresh round of dueling partisan statements, as Democrats sought to credit the effort with averting a deeper recession and Republicans said the program deserved a failing grade. But in terms of spending, the stimulus is largely incomplete.

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