Stimulus Jobs - Some Good News, Though Still Mostly Bad

The New Hampshire Business Review is reporting that DOT stimulus funds have thus far financed the equivalent of 234 full time jobs - up from the dismal numbers reported earlier this month:

The $96 million in federal stimulus contracts approved by the state Department of Transportation through June has thus far resulted in the equivalent of 234 full-time jobs during that time frame, according to the latest figures from the agency.

Even still, New Hampshire's unemployment rate continues to ease higher, the Union Leader reports:

Although only 3,250 people joined the New Hampshire unemployment ranks in June, keeping the state's unemployment the lowest in New England and nearly three percentage points below the national average, eight out of the state's 10 counties saw an increase during the month as summer job cutbacks took effect.

The June statewide unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted at 6.8 percent, up from 6.4 percent in April and May, was well below the national adjusted rate of 9.5 percent, according to the New Hampshire Employment Security, Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau.

Nationally, the Heritage Foundation has put together a great graph showing the jobs deficit since passage of the stimulus bill: