Nov. 8--WASHINGTON -- The mammoth economic stimulus bill that passed early this year created or saved just 231 jobs in the Buffalo metro area as of the end of September, a Buffalo News analysis of federal reports shows.

That figure is understated to an unknown degree because saved education jobs are not reported on the local level.

But there's no doubt that, overall, the $787 billion stimulus bill has not yet had a huge impact on local employment for two reasons:

The federal funds have been flowing slowly to Erie and Niagara counties.

And recipients seemed to be in no rush to spend what they got.

Despite the slow start, the region eventually should get a huge boost from the federal funding. The Buffalo News analysis, based on federal reports filed by those who received the money as of Sept. 30, found $408.6 million already awarded to the Buffalo area.

Of that total, only $67.79 million had actually been received as of the end of September, and only $8.27 million had been spent. Those figures echo a national trend that shows the stimulus aid trickling out of Washington.

In other words, in a nation where the unemployment rate climbed last month to 10.2 percent -- the highest level since 1983 -- the federal government's main effort to turn around the economy has yet to take hold.

And that's a matter of huge concern to Rep. Brian Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat who voted for the bill, and Rep.

Chris Lee, a Clarence Republican who voted against it.

"It's slow. It's sloppy," Higgins said of the handling of the stimulus money. He termed the 231 jobs created or saved locally an "unimpressive" figure.

Lee agreed.

"This was supposed to be a stimulus package, and we're now nine months later, and you look at the numbers, they're abysmal in terms of what's ultimately been spent," he said.

Federal officials in Washington caution that the alternative -- rushing the stimulus money out the door -- could have encouraged fraud, waste and abuse.

"This is the taxpayers' dollars. That's money you don't want to go to waste," said Andrea Mead, a spokesperson at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, one of the biggest providers of funding to the Buffalo area.

Highway projects

There's no doubt that the stimulus money has already had some impact locally.

Some 55 local highway projects are under way because of the federal aid, ranging from the reconstruction of Maple Road near the University at Buffalo to the rebuilding of four roads near the inner harbor.

Of those projects, 47 were less than 50 percent complete as of Sept. 30. Five were more than half finished and three had not yet been started -- but none was completed.

Projects managed out of the local office of the state Department of Transportation, which includes some projects being built in the Southern Tier, have created or saved 53 jobs, the most of any agency or company under the stimulus bill.

The DOT won more money -- $99.18 million -- than any other local agency or company, and also leads the lists of money received and money spent.

Meanwhile, the University at Buffalo and Installs Inc., a Buffalo company that manages the installation of television equipment nationwide, each listed 24 jobs created or saved.

An influx of funding for medical and scientific research led to new post-doctoral and technician positions at UB, said Jorge V. Jose, vice president for research at the university.

The number of new jobs at UB is likely to rise.