U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says his economic recovery plan will likely create or save three to four million jobs.
In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Mr. Obama
said 90 percent of those jobs would be created in the private sector,
and the rest would be public posts the government saves from budget
cuts, such as teachers, police and others who provide vital services.
The president-elect said the figures come from an analysis done by his economic team.
The report found Mr. Obama's plan will put more than half a million
people to work on clean energy initiatives with another 400-thousand
working to repair the country's roads, bridges and schools.
The Labor Department said Friday that the United States lost half a
million jobs in December alone. Mr. Obama says the numbers are a "stark
reminder" of the need for Washington to take immediate action.
Friday's labor report said unemployment in the United States increased
sharply in December to seven-point-two percent, the highest level in 15
years. In all of 2008, the U.S. was determined to have lost
two-point-six million jobs -- the worst annual loss since World War Two.
Mr. Obama's proposed stimulus package includes tax cuts for most
Americans, along with extensions of unemployment insurance and health
coverage and spending on energy, roads, schools and health care.
Many Republicans have expressed concern about the plan, which aides to the president-elect say could cost 775 billion dollars.