The funds coming to the city will be used for projects that range from street repaving to train-track repairs to youth summer job programs. And the city is still applying for more funds for police jobs, to weatherize homes and invest in neighborhoods.
But while some of the dollars have been handed out and work is underway, the bulk of the funds haven't officially hit the street yet. And it's just too soon to say how many jobs will be created through the programs.
Designed to lift the ailing economy and create jobs, the impact of the recovery program is not yet clear. Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 percent last month; in the city, the rate was at 9.9 percent in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Here's a breakdown on how different agencies are spending local stimulus funds and the estimated job impact thus far:
_ The city will receive at least $353 million in stimulus funding. So far, $13 million has been spent on efforts that include preserving 52 jobs in the First Judicial District, job training for seniors and a summer youth-jobs program.
Laura Shubilla, co-president and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network, said that $4 million in stimulus funds are being spent this summer on a longstanding youth-jobs program, helping provide 2,500 slots for teens.
Other city programs are moving forward, including plans to repave streets around the city and rehabbing a runway at the airport. That work should start in the summer and fall, said Andrew Stober, Director of Strategic Inititiaves in the mayor's office of transportation and utilities.
"This work is needed very badly, and it's work we would have otherwise have done in the next few years," Stober said. "The stimulus is doing its exact job here - it's taking projects we would have gotten to in the next few years and advancing them to this year."
