Saved jobs numbers lower than reported

WASHINGTON (AP) - An early progress report on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program.

White House officials promise the mistake will be corrected in future reports.

A government report has claimed more than 30,000 positions paid for with recovery money. But that figure is overstated by least 5,000 jobs, according to an Associated Press review of a sample of stimulus contracts.

In one small example from Ohio, the Toledo-based Koring Group received two Federal Communications Commission contracts to create call centers. It reported hiring 26 people for each contract, or a total of 52 jobs, but cited the same workers for both contracts.