Economists: Obama’s Jobs Act Staves Off Recession

A Bloomberg News survey of economists indicates the Obama jobs plan holds off a recession.

The legislation, submitted to Congress this month, would increase gross domestic product by 0.6 percent next year and add or keep 275,000 workers on payrolls, the median estimates in the survey of 34 economists showed. The program would also lower the jobless rate by 0.2 percentage point in 2012, economists said.

Most of the plan helps retain workers rather than create new hires.

Some 13,000 jobs would be created in 2013, bringing the total to 288,000 over two years, according to the survey. Employers in the U.S. added 1.26 million workers in the past 12 months, Labor Department data show.

Obama’s plan, announced on Sept. 8, calls for cutting the payroll taxes paid by workers and small businesses while extending unemployment insurance. It also includes an increase in infrastructure spending and more aid for cash-strapped state governments.

Half of the value of the plan is in tax cuts.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.