Count Hours Worked, Not Number of Employees

July 22, 2009, 9:05 p.m. EDT

Instead of asking how many jobs were created or saved by a specific project, ask how many hours employees spent working on it in the last month.

The number of hours worked is the figure states must file with the Office of Management and Budget starting in October. From my experience tracking New Hampshire's projects today, the number of hours worked appears to be a more accurate number than the employee head count. More on that tomorrow.

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