The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today distributed on Capitol Hill a revised estimate of the number of jobs supported by federal highway investment. The agency acknowledged the estimate it released March 26 was faulty. DOT now reports that every $1 billion of federal highway investment (including the accompanying state match) supports 34,779 jobs – significantly higher than the 30,076 estimate released last month.
According to ARTBA Vice President for Research and Economics Bill Buechner, it is important to note the total number of jobs supported by highway investment – including construction-related jobs and dependent industries – rose about 12.5 percent from 1.65 million jobs in 1996 to 2.13 million jobs in 2007 as a result of increased highway investment from all levels of government. Although the number of jobs supported by each $1 billion of federal investment may be lower than a decade ago, highway investment remains a significant source of good-paying jobs in the economy.
