By Dorothy Rowley
AFRO Staff Writer
The District has looked forward to jobs in the construction arena such this which began this past summer to help significantly quell its growing unemployment rate. (Courtesy Photo/Recovery.dc.gov)
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(November 4, 2009) - Joblessness in the nation’s capital is a serious issue.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, as of August, the District of Columbia was among 14 states in which at least one-tenth of the work force was unemployed.
As part of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package which was signed into law earlier this year, the District has been allocated some $850 million for the creation of jobs. However, it appears the city still has a long way to go offsetting its burgeoning unemployment rate -- which has now surpassed the 11 percent mark.
“I think they’ve created jobs for people who live in Maryland and Virginia,” said 2010 mayoral contender Leo Alexander. “I see abject poverty here in Washington. I see certain sections of the city approaching 40 percent unemployment, so I’d question who are they creating jobs for -- and how long it will take to get jobs to D.C.
residents.” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has secured $1.2 billion in stimulus funding for construction and rehabilitation projects in the city. Those funds were in addition to $1 billion that had already been designated from the stimulus package for operational projects in Washington.
Norton recently held a tracking hearing in which she compared to other states, how the District’s share of the economic recovery money is being spent.
She said she was “chagrined” to see the District listed next to last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in highway stimulus spending.
“I want to report, however, that 70 percent of the District’s highway stimulus funds have been awarded or spent,” Norton said.
She said that as the stimulus bill was being considered, that she took pains to see that the District was treated as a state for funding.
“However, the District could not begin its work like states with large departments of transportation staffs on hand, but instead must rely mostly on contractors,” Norton said. “Now that most of the work is in progress, it appears that the city is using the funds as Congress most desired, for energy conservation and sustainable projects that facilitate walking, cycling, and mass transit improvements and other projects that improve the local retail and commercial environment.”
Meanwhile, at least half of the construction projects in the District that are being jumpstarted with stimulus money will be done in Southeast Washington.
They include the Homeland Security headquarters slated for construction on the campus of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Ward 8. Work there is scheduled to begin this month – and over a 10-year period, some 38,000 jobs are expected to have been created.
Overall, rehabilitation of about 22 federal buildings make those efforts part of the largest construction projects to be undertaken locally by the federal government.
Unlike other stimulus funds, Norton’s subcommittee’s allocations are not distributed to states but to government sponsored agencies (GSAs), which come under Norton’s supervision and directly administer stimulus funding.
All totaled, GSAs received $5.5 billion stimulus funding for distribution among all 50 states and the District, according to Norton’s office.
The White House reported last week that 650,000 jobs have been saved or created as a result of the economic recovery package and that the administration is poised to reach Obama’s goal of attaining 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year.
The District of Columbia, which has an unemployment rate of 11.5 percent, ranked 43rd among jurisdictions for the most jobs created (2,274) according to a Recovery.com report dated Oct. 10.
As for where in the city, the most jobs have been created, zip code 20002 leads with 801.6 new jobs, totaling $1.4 million. Zip code 20001 follows with 271.4 jobs and the next highest is 20005 with 244.2 new opportunities for employment.
Among top recipients for jobs are the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the District of Columbia government.