‘Jobs of the Future’ Aren’t Cheap

President Obama turned his attention to jobs today, following a report that 85,000 more Americans joined the ranks of the unemployed in December.

The president said the new jobless numbers, which were higher than expected, “are a reminder that the road to recovery is never straight.”

“We have to continue to explore every avenue to accelerate the return to hiring,” he said.

Obama plans to talk a lot more about his proposals to spur job growth next week. He has called for additional government investments in infrastructure, “cash for caulkers” incentives for homeowners to improve energy efficiency, and tax breaks and easier credit for small businesses.

That sounds like another stimulus bill, but this time around it will be called a jobs bill, due to the unpopularity of last year’s $787 billion stimulus package. Obama today defended the stimulus bill, saying it was “a major force in breaking the trajectory of this recession.” It also is creating new jobs, he said.

In fact, he just so happened to have an exciting example ready to unveil. The president announced that 17,000 new jobs will be created by $2.3 billion in tax credits that were awarded to 183 clean-energy manufacturing projects in 43 states. The advanced energy-manufacturing tax credits, which were funded by the economic stimulus bill, will leverage up to $5.4 billion in private investment. This will generate up to 41,000 more jobs.

The goal of these tax credits is to make the United States a stronger producer of parts and equipment used for renewable energy projects such as wind turbines and solar panels.

“Building a robust clean-energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future—jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced,” Obama said. “But it’s also how we will reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, a dependence that endangers our economy and our security. And it is how we will combat the threat of climate change and leave our children a planet that’s safer than the one we inherited.”

The projects funded by the tax credit “will help close the clean-energy gap that has grown between America and other nations,” Obama said.

More than 500 applications were submitted for these tax credits. Winners were selected based on their commercial viability, domestic job creation, technological innovation, potential for reducing air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions, and the speech at which the projects would be completed.

Projects funded by the tax credits range from a new next-generation wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Nebraska to expansion of a South Carolina plant that makes smart meters to help homeowners use less electricity.

These kinds of projects are good for America and the environment. But the president is overselling clean energy as a jobs creator. After all, the 17,000 jobs created by these tax credits represent only one-fifth of the jobs lost just last month. More than 7 million jobs have been lost since the recession began two years ago.

Plus, do the math. Taxpayers are spending $2.3 billion to create 17,000 jobs through this program. That’s a cost of $135,294 per job. Even if you add in the additional 41,000 jobs created by the private investment in these projects, that’s still nearly $40,000 per job.

There are good public policy reasons to invest this money in strengthening America’s clean-energy manufacturing base, but as a jobs program, it’s kind of pricey.

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Kent Hoover is the Washington bureau chief for bizjournals.