The Iowa Department of Management did a telephone survey of contractors that shows at least 7,079 people were working, mostly in short term construction positions, because of I-JOBS in June.
"What I-JOBS is all about is putting people in the construction field to work at a time when we desperately need construction projects in Iowa," says the governor's Chief of Staff, Jim Larew, "And I assume that a person who even had a short term job would consider it a job if it meant a paycheck for that person."
But Iowa State University Economist Dave Swenson questions the figures. "Those people would have been working one way or another perhaps during the course of the year," Swenson says, "This might not be the only source of funding or support for the construction industry. So to imply that all of those jobs are linked for the full year to I-JOBS is fallacious. It's just not correct."
Swenson says there are ways of determining exactly what the job value of the I-JOBS program is, but it being an election season, most politicians aren't interested in those figures. "There is a lot of pressure on all politicians to be able to take credit for job creation right now. And that makes them search for the highest number. And that leads them to over describe the job value of their efforts," Swenson says.
State Republicans are quick to dismiss the study and the program. "This was aimed more at, as a campaign tool than an actual job creation tool, because frankly it was very poorly thought out and in my opinion will create few if any sustainable jobs," says Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley.
Swensen says the report does include important information about how the money was spent. But in terms of pinpointing how many jobs were created, he says, "It's not an accurate representation at all of the economic impact of the I-JOBS program."
"What I-JOBS is all about is putting people in the construction field to work at a time when we desperately need construction projects in Iowa," says the governor's Chief of Staff, Jim Larew, "And I assume that a person who even had a short term job would consider it a job if it meant a paycheck for that person."
But Iowa State University Economist Dave Swenson questions the figures. "Those people would have been working one way or another perhaps during the course of the year," Swenson says, "This might not be the only source of funding or support for the construction industry. So to imply that all of those jobs are linked for the full year to I-JOBS is fallacious. It's just not correct."
Swenson says there are ways of determining exactly what the job value of the I-JOBS program is, but it being an election season, most politicians aren't interested in those figures. "There is a lot of pressure on all politicians to be able to take credit for job creation right now. And that makes them search for the highest number. And that leads them to over describe the job value of their efforts," Swenson says.
State Republicans are quick to dismiss the study and the program. "This was aimed more at, as a campaign tool than an actual job creation tool, because frankly it was very poorly thought out and in my opinion will create few if any sustainable jobs," says Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley.
Swensen says the report does include important information about how the money was spent. But in terms of pinpointing how many jobs were created, he says, "It's not an accurate representation at all of the economic impact of the I-JOBS program."
