State of Colorado Jobs Saved by ARRA

Thousands of State of Colorado jobs have been saved or preserved thanks to federal stimulus funding.

Gov. Bill Ritter recently announced that an effort to intensify the distribution of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to communities throughout Colorado helped to pay for more than 7,200 jobs during Q4 2009.

Those jobs, which were the equivalent of full-time positions, included those for: teachers in higher-education institutions; highway construction; science research; weatherization programs; and special education and other professional services at K-12 schools throughout the state.

"State agencies have been working with a sense of urgency to use Recovery Act funds quickly to support struggling families and to pay for jobs and infrastructure projects that will bring lasting benefits to communities across Colorado," Ritter said. "Moving forward, we will continue to make sure that the Recovery Act provides the maximum benefit to all Coloradans and helps our economy emerge stronger than ever."

Specifically, ARRA funds were used during Q4 2009 to:

• Pay the salaries of nearly 1,700 full-time workers at the Sterling, Arkansas Valley and Fremont correctional facilities.
• Pay the salaries of thousands of construction workers hired for 87 highway projects.
• Pay for hundreds of special education teachers and professionals who help low-income, disabled and homeless students in K-12 schools.
• Preserve nearly 3,400 full-time equivalent jobs throughout all public colleges and universities.
• Create more than 170 full-time equivalent jobs to improve energy efficiency in low-income homes.

As of the end of last year, state agencies had spent $622 million - or 91 percent of the funding it has received so far - on 458 projects and funded 7,248.20 full-time equivalent jobs. In addition, hundreds of other businesses, nonprofits and local agencies throughout the state also are receiving ARRA grants, contracts and loans.

Colorado is expected to receive at least $6.7 billion in ARRA funds for more than 100 different programs, which include tax cuts for 1.8 million families, increased safety net benefits and infrastructure projects that are creating or saving thousands of jobs.