RI Reports About 200 Fewer Stimulus-Funded Jobs

Federal stimulus funding administered by Rhode Island's state government created or sustained nearly 1,490 jobs, or about 13 percent fewer positions than originally reported.

New figures released Friday showed drops that Gov. Don Carcieri's administration attributed to changes in the methodology used to calculate the job figures.

For example, the state Department of Labor and Training lowered its jobs tally from 470 positions to 252, a decline of more than 46 percent. Carcieri officials say the U.S. government told the state to change the way it accounted for summer jobs created for youth.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor and Training, which oversaw the program, said she could not immediately comment on the change.

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