Stimulus funds aid hiring in Oak Ridge
Wednesday January 27, 2010
Influx creating jobs for DOE facilities
A huge influx of federal stimulus money has created hundreds of jobs, sped up various Department of Energy projects and enabled the city to weather the economic storm in good stead, officials said.
DOE received almost $2 billion in that stimulus money, and $1.2 billion of it will stay in Oak Ridge, said Gerald Boyd, head of the department's Oak Ridge office.
That's translated into 1,500 new jobs added at DOE's Oak Ridge facilities in the last few months, Boyd said.
He said only $200 million of the Recovery Act money has been spent to date.
Boyd said the possible effects of the proposed three-year budget freeze outlined Monday by President Obama remain uncertain but many DOE operations fall outside freeze guidelines.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory's hiring is on the upswing, director Thom Mason said.
Some 400 staff members were added at Oak Ridge National Laboratory last fiscal year, he said.
Another 120 new hires have joined the staff already this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, a lab spokesman said.
The lab, Mason said, was also "very well positioned to take advantage of Recovery Act funding."
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
