The feds and the city are using some funny math to inflate the number of jobs created by the $787 billion stimulus program so far — with the tally including thousands of brief, low-wage summer jobs for youths.
New reports just released by the Obama administration claim New York state has “created/saved” 40,625 jobs — including 25,526 in the city.
A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg told The Post that the city had “created” 3,000 jobs and that the rest represented already employed teachers and other city employees who faced possible layoffs without the federal “shot in the arm.”
The spokesman could not immediately give a breakdown of what the new jobs entailed. But a memo issued by Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler suggested the number of stable new jobs was under 300.
The memo had a footnote explaining that the city used a formula required by the feds to count 2,882 “full-time-equivalent” as created jobs.
That number was based on 19,518 youths who took part in a summer employment program, Skyler said. The seven-week program paid minimum wage — less than $8 per hour — for residents age 14 to 24 to work in local businesses, public facilities and nonprofit groups and included some training, officials said.
“The calculation methodology does not necessarily reflect the actual number of individuals employed as a result of the stimulus,” Skyler explained.
Stimulus-funded construction projects have generated few new jobs, other reports show. For a $175 million project to repair ferry ramps in Staten Island, the city cites 4.17 jobs through Sept. 30.
“Many projects are in their early stages, and as they advance, more hires will be made, like with any construction work,” said Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna.
“The reporting system needs to be improved,” said Chris Keeley, of Common Cause, a watchdog group. “We need information that indicates ‘Was this a seven-day job, a seven-month job or a seven-year job?’ We also need to know the pay. Were these good jobs?”