Did the Stimulus Create Jobs?

Yes, the stimulus legislation increased employment, despite false Republican claims to the contrary.

Summary

The economic stimulus package is a favorite target of Republican candidates and groups, but more than a few ads falsely claim it did not create or save any jobs. Some recent examples:

Republican House candidate Dan Debicella charges that Democratic Rep. Jim Himes failed Connecticut’s families because he voted for a “stimulus package that has done nothing to reduce unemployment.”

Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for governor in Florida, says Democrat Alex Sink “backed the failed stimulus bill, which created debt, not jobs.”

Similarly, Sink — who never served in Congress and didn’t vote on the bill — is attacked by the Republican Party of Florida in an ad that says the stimulus “gave us big debt and no jobs.”
Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that does not have to disclose its donors, aired an ad against Democratic congressional candidate Denny Heck of Washington that claimed the “$787 billion stimulus … failed to save and create jobs.” The group has launched similar ads against other Democrats.

Kristi Noem, a Republican House candidate from South Dakota, calls the measure a “jobless stimulus.”

The truth is that the stimulus increased employment by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million people, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed HERE.