Ohio: Stimulus led to 1,138 highway jobs in July

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio officials say President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package created or retained 1,138 highway construction jobs in July.

That’s the first full month that contractors reported employment data to the state.

Early data also shows that about 300 young people were hired with stimulus money this summer to clear trails and do other maintenance work at state parks.

The numbers offer a glimpse of how the stimulus plan is filtering down to the street, but because state agencies have different reporting cycles, the overall picture of jobs created is incomplete.

It’s also tempered by Ohio’s unemployment rate climbing to 11.2 percent in July.

Highway officials say they expect employment to grow as more stimulus-funded construction jobs get started in August and September.