The White House has released its first report on job creation since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

The White House today unveiled the first hard data on how many jobs the $787 billion recovery act has created.

So far, companies that have received stimulus contracts directly from the federal government have created 30,383 jobs. These firms have been awarded $16 billion in contracts and have actually been paid $2.2 billion.

Stimulus-fueled job creation has become a very controversial issue. The Obama administration has faced blistering attacks by Republicans who contend that the recovery act has failed to live up to its promise to put Americans back to work.

So far, the federal government has made available a total of $256.3 billion in contracts, grants and loans and has paid out $110.7 billion to state and local governments, non-profit agencies and companies. The reports released today were the first in a series that provides a tally of the actual number of jobs created by the Recovery Act.

The Obama administration downplayed the data, saying it represents just a small sliver of the stimulus that's been spent since the massive recovery act was enacted in February.

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Andrew Torgan

CNN Financial News Producer

Millions of older Americans face stagnant Social Security checks next year, the first time in three decades that payments would not rise.

The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment for the next two years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975.

By law, Social Security benefits cannot go down. But monthly payments would decrease for about millions of people in the Medicare prescription drug program because their premiums, which often are deducted from Social Security payments, are scheduled to go up from $28 to $30.

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