White House estimates job impact

Just hours from the formal signing of the economic stimulus package, the White House today issued an updated state-by-state estimate of how many jobs the huge $787 billion bill will save or create.

Nationally, the Obama administration says it is 3.5 million over two years. The most is estimated at 396,000 in California, where the unemployment rate is near double digits and the state is in a serious budget crisis.

In New England, 79,000 are to come in Massachusetts, 41,000 in Connecticut, 16,000 in New Hampshire, 15,000 in Maine, 12,000 in Rhode Island, and 8,000 in Vermont.

"The estimates are derived from an analysis of the overall employment impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act conducted by Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist for the Vice President, and detailed estimates of the working age population, employment, and industrial composition of each state," the White House says.

Meanwhile, the White House has also gone live with the website designed to let Americans follow the money, part of an effort to make the bill transparent and accountable.