Refuting criticisms that the federal stimulus plan initiated by the Obama Administration just over a year ago has not created a significant number of jobs, a study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveals that the plan added between 1 and 2.1 million jobs to end of last year.

The study also revealed that as a result of businesses generated by the $781 billion stimulus fund it added between 1.5 to 3.5 percent to the nation’s economic growth in 2009.

The objective of the stimulus fund is to stimulate individual states, and by extension, the nation’s struggling economy, by creating jobs and generating business mainly through the funding of a variety of public projects, like road repair and construction. Over the year since it has been implemented, the plan has been characterized by tax breaks for individuals and businesses and significant spending by the federal government.

In its economic forecast, the CBO projects stronger results from the stimulus plan with it forecasted to add 1.4 to 4 percent to the economy and further reducing unemployment by 0.7 to 1.8 percent during 2010.

The White House has consistently insisted that the plan has created over 2 million jobs last year and predicts it will add another 1.5 million this year, and steadily boost the economy.

Republicans and other critics of the plan have claimed it hasn’t been creating the number of the jobs that the White House says it has, and that the plan has been a drain on the federal budget.

Most objective economists are in disagreement with the critics, showing that the plan has actually boosted the economy.

The CBO report acknowledges the plan has been effective in the implementation of infrastructure projects like road- and bridge-building and the extension and increase in unemployment benefits.

Although there has been criticisms of the stimulus plan, some state governments and Democrats in the US Congress have been calling for more stimulus funds to be created particularly to step up public work projects, which has strong employment potential.

With the national unemployment rate still critical at the rate of 9.5 percent (falling from 10 percent at the end of 2009), economists are expecting the stimulus plan will serve as a powerful tool in providing additional jobs especially in states like Florida, Michigan and Ohio were unemployment is well over 11 percent.

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