OMB Updated Guidance on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - M-10-08

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
O F F I C E O F MA N A G E ME N T A N D B U D G E T
W ASHINGTON, D.C. 20503

THE DIRECTOR

December 18, 2009
M-10-08
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
FROM:

Peter R. Orszag
Director

SUBJECT: Updated Guidance on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – Data Quality,
Non-Reporting Recipients, and Reporting of Job Estimates
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-5 (“Recovery Act”) was
signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. As required by Section 1512 of the
Recovery Act, recipients have begun submitting reports on the use of Recovery Act funding through
a nationwide data collection process and have reported estimates on the number of jobs created and
retained. The updated guidance included in this Memorandum incorporates lessons learned from
the reporting period ending September 30, 2009 (the first reporting period under the Recovery Act)
and further addresses recommendations of the Government Accountability Office in its report,
Recipient Reported Jobs Data Provide Some Insight into Use of Recovery Act Funding, but Data
Quality and Reporting Issues Need Attention, issued November 19, 2009.
Part 1 of this Memorandum provides guidance to Federal agencies intended to improve the
quality of data reported under Section 1512 of the Recovery Act and further outlines important steps
Federal agencies must take to both identify non-reporting recipients and take actions to bring such
recipients into compliance with Section 1512 of the Act. This Memorandum:
•

Provides Federal agencies with a standard methodology that is necessary for effectively
implementing reviews of the quality of data submitted by recipients.

•

Provides guidance to Federal agencies on the format and dates to provide OMB with the list
of awards subject to recipient reporting.

•

Provides guidance to Federal agencies on the format and dates to provide OMB with the
associated list of specific recipients who failed to submit required reports.

Please note that Part 1 of this memorandum will apply to both recipients of Federal
assistance awards and Federal contract awards under the Recovery Act.
Part 2 of this Memorandum updates Section 5: Reporting on Jobs Creation Estimates by
Recipients (M-09-21). The update reflects important simplifications to the manner in which job
estimates are calculated and reported. Specifically, recipients will now report job estimates on a
quarterly, rather than cumulative, basis. As a result, recipients will no longer be required to sum
various data on hours worked across multiple quarters of data when calculating job estimates. This
update aligns with GAO’s recommendation to “standardize the period of measurement for [Full

Time Equivalents].” In addition, recipients will no longer be required to make a subjective
judgment on whether jobs were created or retained as a result of the Recovery Act. Instead,
recipients will more easily and objectively report on jobs funded with Recovery Act dollars. This
update aligns with GAO’s recommendation to “[make] more explicit that ‘jobs created or retained’
are to be reported as hours worked and paid for with Recovery Act funds.” In making these
updates, this Memorandum provides a series of practical and user-friendly examples of how the
simplified formula should be applied.
As recipients transition to the updated methodology, Federal agencies will work closely with
the recipients to address the potential challenges for this upcoming reporting period. Recipients
should implement the updated methodology to the greatest extent possible for the January reporting
period. Federal agencies should consider the efforts put forth and the complexities and challenges
of the recipients when reviewing compliance with the Federal awards.
This replacement for M-09-21 Section 5 – will apply to recipients of Federal assistance
awards under the Recovery Act. Federal contractors will continue to comply with FAR Clause
52.204-11. An example of how to calculate jobs will be posted to the Frequently Asked Questions
for Federal Contractors linked at FederalReporting.gov.
Due to the rapidly approaching January reporting period, we are cognizant that Federal
agencies and recipients may have questions pertaining to the newly issued guidance. Questions (or
requested clarifications) pertaining to these guidance documents should be sent to
[email protected] for timely review.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Attachment

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Part 1. Data Quality Requirements and Guidance for Non-Reporting Recipients
This guidance provides Federal agencies with information necessary to effectively review
the quality of data submitted by recipients in response to the reporting requirements included in
Section 1512 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“Recovery Act,” or “the
Act”). This memorandum also provides guidance to Federal agencies on the identification of when,
and in what format, to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the list of awards
subject to recipient reporting requirements and the associated list of specific recipients who failed to
submit required reports. It applies to both recipients of Federal assistance awards and Federal
contract awards under the Recovery Act.
1. What steps will Federal agencies take to ensure consistency between their own guidance
and the guidance released by OMB?
Providing consistent guidance to recipients and informing them with timely and accurate
award information for inclusion in the reports submitted to FederalReporting.gov can significantly
reduce data quality errors. To promote consistency between OMB guidance and agency
supplementary guidance, Federal agencies must submit their guidance documents to OMB for
review and clearance by December 22, 2009, and from time to time thereafter as required by OMB.
2. Are Federal agencies required to provide recipients with a list of key information for
reporting?
Yes. Federal Agencies must provide each award recipient with key award information by
December 22, 2009 and at time of award in all future awards. At a minimum, Federal agencies are
to provide the following information:
1. Each Federal agency should provide the key award information listed below to its recipients in
order to improve data quality and reduce inaccuracies in recipient reporting. The key award
information should be provided in a single source document, such as a “quick reference card,”
letter, or within the federal contract, grant, or loan document. Agencies may, at their discretion,
combine key award information when issuing multiple awards to a single recipient.
Key award information:
1. Award Type (identify to the recipient either: (1) Grant, (2) Loan, or (3) Federally
Awarded Contract. Any other type of federal financial assistance that is neither a
grant nor a loan should be identified, for purposes of Award Type, as a Grant)
2. Award Number
3. Order Number for Federally Awarded Contracts, if applicable
4. Funding Agency Code (four characters)
5. Awarding Agency Code (four characters)
6. Government Contracting Office Code, if a federally awarded contract (6 characters
or less)
7. Award Date
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8. Amount of Award (For Grants: The total amount of Federal dollars on the award.
For Loans: The total amount of the loan obligated by the Federal Agency. This is the
face value of the loan. For Federally Awarded Contracts: The total amount of dollars
obligated by the Federal Agency).
9. Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number (for Grants and Loans
only)
10. Activity Code (NAICS or NTEE-NPC, as applicable to the award and available
through agency systems). [Agencies should review the Recipient Reporting Data
Model at the “Downloads” tab at FederalReporting.gov to determine which applies.]
11. Program Source (TAS) Code (format will be two digits, a hyphen, and then four
digits, for example, “13-0554”)
2. If a Federal agency has already fulfilled this requirement by providing its recipients with all
of the key award information listed above, it is not required to duplicate that effort; however,
it must inform OMB as instructed in 2.3 below.
3. Upon conclusion, each Federal agency must send a notification of completion to OMB that
identifies the format (or process) used for providing the key award information. The
notification of completion must be certified by the agency’s Senior Accountable Official and
emailed to [email protected] with the subject line, “[Agency Name] Key Award
Information Notification of Completion,” no later than the December 22, 2009, deadline.
The signed and dated certification must read substantially as follows:
“In connection with notification of this agency’s completion of providing key award
information to recipients, the undersigned [TITLE] hereby certifies that all award
recipients have received required key award information in the format or process as
identified herein.”
4. For all future awards, this key award information will be provided at time of award by the
awarding agency.
3. What are the minimum actions Federal agencies must conduct regarding data quality
reviews?
While a specific methodology regarding the review of recipient data quality is not required,
Federal agencies are to establish data quality plans that articulate their data quality review process
to, at a minimum, focus on significant reporting errors and material omissions.
1.

Significant Errors. The data fields that are of major concern for significant errors are:
• Federal amount of the award
•

Number of jobs retained or created

•

Federal award number

•

Recipient name

If the recipient did not make the requested correction(s) for the current reporting period,
or submit a reasonable explanation of why the data was not incorrect, then the award
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report is to be considered to have significant errors. For these significant errors,
agencies shall complete a template on a MAX Community web page (Federal access
only) by providing the requested data fields to be corrected, the comment requesting
correction, the data that in the agency’s estimate best corrects the error, or why the
recipient did not correct the data or supply a reasonable explanation that required no
further action by the agency.
2. Material Omissions. Material omissions include the following:
i. Failure of a Federal ARRA award recipient to report on a received award as
required by the terms of their award. The agency shall identify specific awards
going to a recipient(s) by identifying the award number, recipient name and
award date and other information as necessary. If the agency determines a
particular recipient did not report, the agency is required to notify the recipient to
submit a report either through the comment function of FederalReporting.gov or
by notifying the recipient directly; and
ii. Data in a report that is not responsive to a specific data element. For instance,
where a recipient is required to provide a narrative description, such as in
“Award Description,” the description must be sufficiently clear to facilitate
understanding by the general public.
Agencies shall report on the template with the following information:
•

DUNS number

•

Federal award number

•

Federal award amount

•

Date of award

•

Recipient name

•

Recipient state

•

Reason for non-compliance, if known

4. What data anomalies might Federal agencies encounter when reviewing recipient data
within FederalReporting.gov and how can they help recipients address them?
Improving data quality requires a focus on possible data anomalies. The following are
anomalies agencies may encounter when reviewing ARRA submissions. Consistent with agency
data quality processes, in instances where agencies identify such anomalies in recipient reports, they
are to:
1. Assess the highest priority corrections necessary to reduce the likelihood of significant
error;
2. Assess other corrections that would improve recipient data quality; and

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3. Encourage recipients to make corrections that ensure accurate data reporting.
1. Recipient Name – identify recipient names that do no match what your agency has
recorded in your management systems.
2. Order Number – identify order numbers that do not match agency documentation.
3. Inconsistencies or Misalignment – identify certain data categories that are logically
related and those reports that include data that are inconsistent or misaligned
between those categories. Examples include:
•

Agency vs. Treasury Account Symbol (TAS) – reports in which the
awarding agency (when they are also the funding agency) or the funding
agency and TAS codes do not match.

•

CFDA Number vs. Awarding/Funding Agency – reports in which the
CFDA number does not line up with the awarding/funding agency.

•

Award Type vs. Agency Code – reports that have an award type that could
not have been issued by your agency. For example if your agency only issues
grants funded by the Recovery Act, there should not be any federally
awarded contracts for your agency.

•

Final Report vs. Project Status – reports in which the recipient indicated
that this was the final report, but the project status does not indicate “Fully
Complete.”

•

Final Report vs. Funds Received – for grants and loans, reports in which
the recipient indicated this was the final report, but they have yet to receive
all funds that were awarded.

•

Final Report vs. Funds Invoiced – for federally awarded contracts, reports
in which the recipient indicated this was the final report, but they have yet to
invoice for funds that were awarded.

•

Project Status vs. Funds Received – for grants and loans, reports in which
the recipient indicates that the project is Fully Completed, but the Funds
Received are minimal compared to award amount.

•

Project Status vs. Funds Invoiced – for federally awarded contracts, reports
in which the recipient indicates that the project is Fully Completed, but the
Invoiced Amount is minimal compared to award amount.

•

Award Date vs. Jobs Created/Retained – reports with award dates that are
after the end of the reporting period and the recipient has reported jobs
created/retained.

•

Award Date vs. Projects Completed – reports with award dates that are
after the end of the reporting period, but the recipients has reported the
project as completed.

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•

Recipient DUNS number vs. Agency Financial Records – DUNS numbers
that are in agency financial records but that are not in FederalReporting.gov
and vice versa.

5. What are the implications or consequences of uncorrected data quality problems by
recipients and sub-recipients?
As further promulgated in OMB M-10-05, OMB M-09-21, and OMB M-09-15, timely,
complete, and effective reporting under Section 1512 of the Recovery is a term and condition of
receiving Recovery Act funding.
As a result, Federal agencies will be required to continuously evaluate recipient and subrecipient efforts to meet Section 1512 requirements as well as the requirements of OMB
implementing guidance and any relevant Federal program regulations. In particular, Federal
agencies will work to identify and remediate instances in which:
•

Recipients that demonstrate systemic or chronic reporting problems and/or otherwise fail to
correct such problems as identified by the Federal agency;

•

Sub-recipients under grants and loans that demonstrate systemic or chronic reporting
problems and/or otherwise fail to correct such problems as identified by the recipient or
Federal agency; and

•

Recipients that demonstrate systemic or chronic deficiencies in meeting its responsibilities
to review and identify data quality problems of sub-recipients consistent with the
requirements of this Guidance.

On a case-by-case basis, such findings of a Federal agency can result in termination of
Federal funding. Further, in some cases, intentional reporting of false information can result in civil
and/or criminal penalties.
Recipients who have failed to submit a Section 1512 report as required by the terms of their
award are considered to be non-compliant. Non-compliant recipients, including those who are
persistently late or negligent in their reporting obligations, are subject to Federal action, up to and
including the termination of Federal funding or the ability to receive Federal funds in the future.
Federal departments and agencies are reminded that these terms and conditions of Recovery
Act awards, when coupled with other existing policies and procedures, provide a robust mix of
actions available to address non-compliance.
Section 1512 requires recipients of Recovery Act awards to submit reports. Agencies are
reminded that under certain circumstances, not all recipients who received an award would be
required to submit a report within the FederalReport.gov solution. For example, some agencies
granted extensions for submission of reports of awards to recipients who were subject to a natural
disaster. In other cases, some non-filing recipients were in full comportment with guidance or

7

applicable award terms and conditions. For example, Federal contractors who had not submitted an
invoice were not required to report per FAR clause 52.205-11 dated March 2009.
6. How are Federal agencies calculating control totals and identifying non-compliant
recipients?
Federal departments and agencies must take the following actions to improve compliance
with Section 1512 recipient reporting:
1. Establishment of control totals. Agencies are to track the number of individual Federal
contract awards and Federal assistance awards. One day prior to the final day of the
Federal agency review period, each agency must use the template and instructions found on
a MAX Community web page (Federal access only) and report the sum total of each. These
figures are to serve as control totals.
2. Range of awards for which reports were not submitted. Within three business days
following the final day of the Federal agency quarterly review period, each agency shall
conduct an analysis of the differences between the control total of awards issued by that
agency and the corresponding number of reports submitted to the FederalReporting.gov
solution by recipients.
3. Identification of non-compliant recipients. Within five business days following the final
day of the Federal agency quarterly review period, each agency must compile a verified and
detailed list of recipients who were required to report in the current reporting period but
failed to do so. This list will include the DUNS number, award number, award amount,
award date, recipient name, recipient state, and reason for non-report, if known. Using the
template and instructions found on a MAX Community web page (Federal access only),
each agency must complete the template.
4. Certification. Completed lists of non-compliant recipients are to be submitted to OMB
within five days following the final day of the Federal agency quarterly review period via
[email protected] and must be accompanied by a certification by the agency’s Senior
Accountable Official for Recovery. The signed and dated certification must read
substantially as follows:
“In connection with recipient reporting required by Section 1512 of the Recovery
Act, the undersigned [TITLE] hereby certifies that the information contained in the
attached report fairly presents the identity and other relevant information of
Recovery Act recipients who have failed to submit a Section 1512 report as required
by the terms of their award.”
7. What steps are Federal agencies taking to reduce future non-compliance?
In addition to efforts that Federal agencies are to undertake to identify non-compliant
recipients, Federal agencies are to conduct the following actions to reduce the level of noncompliance in subsequent reporting periods:
1. Determine an appropriate outreach method and establish contact with each recipient who
failed to report by the quarterly deadline, and:
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1. Continue to instruct each non-reporting recipient to submit reports for the
forthcoming and subsequent reporting quarters;
2. Determine the specific reasons a recipient failed to submit a report as required;
3. Provide assistance to recipients who experienced technical challenges, difficulty in
understanding coding or other situations where the agency may be able to either
provide direct assistance or an appropriate referral to avoid similar problems in the
next reporting cycle;
4. Describe in plain language the consequences of current and continued noncompliance;
5. Confirm the non-reporting recipient is not presently debarred, suspended, proposed
for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded by the reviewing Federal
department or agency; and
6. Provide documentation in appropriate administrative records.
2. Assess the severity of the non-compliance and the circumstances surrounding the noncompliance. From this assessment, Federal departments and agencies are to determine the
need, if any, for future action regarding each non-filing recipient, including but not limited
to:
1. Those provided in OMB Memorandum M-09-10 Section 6.4 and M-09-21 Sections
4.1 and 4.6;
2. Enforcement of terms and agreement provisions within relevant awarding
documents, including—
1. Sanctions provided under 2 CFR Part 176 for recipients of grants or other noncontractual awards, and FAR 4.1501 and, when determined appropriate, the
processes identified in the termination clause for recipients of Federal contract
awards;
2. Inclusion of the recipient's failure to comply with the reporting requirements a
part of the recipient's performance record; and
3. Other appropriate enforcement action as determined by the agency.
3. Beginning with the next reporting period and for each subsequent reporting period
thereafter, determine the applicability of agency regulations promulgated in furtherance of
Executive Orders 12549 or 12689, including regulations and guidance provided at FAR
Subpart 9.4 and 2 CFR 215.62 or the agency's implementation of the OMB Circular A–102,
for each recipient who fails to submit required reports for two or more successive quarters.
If the non-compliance appears to be fraudulent, Federal Departments and agencies are to
refer the matter to their office of inspector general.

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Part 2. Replacement of Section 5 of M-09-21 – Reporting on Jobs Creation Estimates by
Recipients of Grants, Loans, and other forms of Federal Assistance

5.1

What reporting is required by the Recovery Act for estimates of jobs created or
retained and what changes have been made to the job calculation methodology?

There are two distinct types of jobs reports that are required in the accountability and
transparency provisions of the Recovery Act. 1
1. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), in consultation with OMB and Treasury, are
required by Section 1513 of the Recovery Act to submit quarterly reports to Congress that
detail the impact of all Recovery Act funding on employment, economic growth, and other
key economic indicators.
2. Recipients of Recovery funds subject to Section 1512 are required to submit estimates of
jobs created and jobs retained for each project or activity in their recipient reports.
Based on feedback from the recipient community and the Federal agencies, this section of
M-09-21, Implementing Guidance for the Reports on the Use of Funds Pursuant to the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, published June 22, 2009, is updated as of December 18,
2009. This update incorporates best practices and lessons learned from the first Recovery Act
recipient reporting period, which ended September 30, 2009, by simplifying the formula used to
calculate job estimates and providing additional examples of how to apply this formula so recipients
can accurately and easily report estimates of jobs created or jobs retained as a result of Recovery
Act funding.
This updated guidance reflects an important change and simplification to the manner in
which job estimates are calculated and reported. In previous guidance, recipients were required to
sum all hours worked from the current and all prior quarters and divide that total against a
cumulative sum of all full-time hours from the current and prior reporting quarters. This ratio
provided an average Full Time Equivalent (FTE) estimate by project over all reporting quarters
since the start of the Recovery Act. 2
A significant number of recipients expressed concern with the complexity of the multiple
steps involved with this formula. As a result of this feedback, this updated guidance changes the
job estimate calculation such that the recipient will now report job estimate totals by dividing the
hours worked in the reporting quarter (i.e., the most recent quarter) by the hours in a full-time
schedule in that quarter. Recipients will no longer be required to sum across multiple quarters of
data as part of the formula.
1

Title XV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5)
This update reflects a quarterly reporting approach rather than a cumulative reporting approach embodied in previous
guidance. Other reporting elements will continue to be cumulative unless otherwise noted. This includes, for example,
the narrative description of job estimates and the amount of funds expended. The data reporting model, Supplement 2
to M-09-21 found at www.omb.gov/recovery includes all applicable updates and instructions.

2

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A second important change is in the definition of a job created or retained. Previous
guidance required recipients to make a subjective judgment on whether a given job would have
existed were it not for the Recovery Act. The updated guidance eliminates this subjective
assessment and defines jobs created or retained as those funded in the quarter by the Recovery Act.
Jobs funded with non-Recovery Act funds will not be counted unless they will be reimbursed (See
Section 5.9). Jobs funded partially with Recovery Act funds will only be counted based on the
proportion funded by the Recovery Act (See Section 5.5).
Please note that certain recipients, such as those funded by Department of Transportation,
have job reporting requirements in the Act that go beyond Section 1512. Recipients must follow
this guidance with respect to the reporting requirements under Section 1512 and must also comply
with program- and agency-specific requirements.
5.2

What are the key principles of reporting estimates of jobs created and jobs retained?

The key principles below provide an overview of recipient reporting on the estimated
employment impact of the Recovery Act-funded work.
1. The Section 1512 reports contain only estimates of jobs created and jobs retained. These
estimates are entered by recipients into the “Number of Jobs” data field in the reports
submitted to FederalReporting.gov.
2. Definitions of jobs considered to be created or retained:
a. A job created is a new position created and filled, or an existing unfilled position that
is filled, that is funded by the Recovery Act;
b. A job retained is an existing position that is now funded by the Recovery Act.
Using the definitions above, recipients must estimate the total number of jobs that were
funded in the quarter by the Recovery Act. A funded job is defined as one in which the
wages or salaries are either paid for or will be reimbursed with Recovery Act funding.
3. A job must be counted as either a job created or a job retained; it cannot be counted as both.
Additionally, only compensated employment in the United States or outlying areas should
be counted. See 74 FR 14824 for definitions.
4. The estimate of the number of jobs created or retained by the Recovery Act should be
expressed as “full-time equivalents” (FTE). In calculating an FTE, the number of actual
hours worked in funded jobs are divided by the number of hours representing a full work
schedule for the kind of job being estimated. These FTEs are then adjusted to count only the
portion corresponding to the share of the job funded by Recovery Act funds. Alternatively,
in cases where accounting systems track the billing of workers’ hours to Recovery Act and
non-Recovery Act accounts, recipients may simply count the number of hours funded by the
Recovery Act and divide by the number of hours in a full-time schedule. See Section 5.3 for
further details.
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5. Prime recipients are required to report an estimate of jobs directly created or retained by project
and activity or contract and enter this information into a single numeric field on Recovery.gov.
6. Prime recipients of grants, cooperative agreements, and loans must include an estimate of
jobs created and retained on projects and activities managed by their funding recipients (i.e.
sub-recipients) in the numeric and narrative data fields mentioned in 5.2.3 above. See
Section 5.7 for further details.
7. Except as provided in 5.2.8 below for critical support positions, recipients should not
attempt to report the employment impact upon materials suppliers and central service
providers (so-called “indirect” jobs) or on the local community (“induced” jobs).
8. Recipients are asked to provide a narrative description of the employment impact. The
narrative should include a brief description of the types of jobs created or retained. This
description may rely on job titles, broader labor categories, or the recipient’s existing
practice for describing jobs as long as the terms used are widely understood and describe the
general nature of the work.
9. Recipients will report on only projects and activities funded in whole or in part by the
Recovery Act.
10. This Guidance does not establish specific requirements for documentation or other written
proof to support reported estimates on jobs created or retained; however, recipients should
be prepared to justify their estimates. Recipients must use reasonable judgment in
determining how best to estimate the job impact of Recovery dollars, including the
appropriate sources of information used to generate such estimate. Where such written
evidence exists, it can be an important resource for validating the job estimates reported.
11. In addition to providing this information by project and activity as required by the Recovery
Act, as a best practice it is also recommended that State governments post the employment
impact of all recovery funds prominently on the State recovery website.
12. Effective February 2, 2010, the FederalReporting.gov solution will be open for corrections
of all data submitted for the quarter ending December 31, 2009. Recipients will have the
ability to make correction up until the start of the next reporting period. For example, from
February 2, 2010 through March 31, 2010, recipients will have the ability to correct data for
the quarter ending December 31, 2009.
Except as outlined in Section 5.10, the recipient will not have the ability to correct any data
submitted for the quarter ending September 30, 2009, (i.e. the prior quarter). It follows that
once the next reporting period begins on April 1, 2010, the recipient will no longer have the
ability to make corrections to prior quarters, i.e., the quarters ending September 30, 2009
and December 31, 2009.

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During periods of continuous corrections, Federal agencies are required to make reasonable
efforts to monitor such corrections and, prior to the end of the corrections period for a given
quarter, communicate to recipients any corrections determined by the Federal agency to be
erroneous.
5.3

What methodology should recipients use when estimating the number of jobs created
or retained?

The requirement for reporting estimates of the “Number of Jobs” is based on a simple
calculation used to avoid overstating the number of other than full-time permanent jobs. This
calculation converts part-time or temporary jobs into fractional “full-time equivalent” (FTE) jobs.
Full-time equivalent (FTE) employment is a standard concept used by the Office of Personnel
Management. 3
In order to perform the calculation, a recipient will need the total number of hours worked
by employees in the most recent quarter (the quarter being reported) in jobs that meet the definition
of a job created or a job retained as defined in section 5.3.2. The recipient will also need the
number of hours in a full-time schedule for the quarter. For instance, if a full-time schedule is 2,080
hours/year, the number of hours in a full-time schedule for a quarter is 520 (2,080 hours/4 quarters
= 520). The formula for reporting can be represented as:
Total Number of Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act within Reporting Quarter
= FTE
Quarterly Hours in a Full-Time Schedule
Please note that the reporting period quarters are defined as:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Quarter 1: January 1 – March 31
Quarter 2: April 1 – June 30
Quarter 3: July 1 – September 30
Quarter 4: October 1 – December 31

The FTE formula is intended to prevent over-counting of short-term or part-time jobs. For
example, if a job is funded by the Recovery Act, but the individual’s employment only lasts for one
week, then a full job will not be reported. In this case, the FTE formula will discount the job total
to reflect the temporary nature of the job. Only jobs that are funded directly by the Recovery Act
are counted as created or retained.
Example: Assume that a recipient’s Recovery Act funds paid for two full-time employees
and one part-time employee working half days for the quarter. Also assume that the recipient’s fulltime schedule for the quarter is 520 hours (2,080 hours in a work-year divided by 4). To convert
hours worked to number of FTE for the quarterly report, aggregate all hours worked and divide by
the number of hours in a full-time schedule for the quarter.
3

This definition is taken from OMB Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission and Execution of the Budget 2009.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a11_current_year_a11_toc/

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In this example, two full-time employees each worked 520 hours (1,040 hours combined) +
one employee worked half-time or 260 hours for a total of 1,300 hours worked. Divide total
number of hours worked by the number of hours in a full-time schedule for the quarter:
1,300 ÷ 520 = 2.5 FTE reported for jobs.
Please note that this formula has been revised based on feedback to make it easier to apply than the
formula provided in OMB Guidance M-09-21, June 22, 2009. Under the revised guidance,
recipients should not cumulate hours worked across several quarters.

Period

3rd qtr

4th qtr

1st qtr

2nd qtr

3rd qtr

4th qtr

Full-Time Schedule (Denominator)

520

520

520

520

520

520

Full Time Employee 1
Full Time Employee 2
Part Time Employee (half time)
Temporary Employee (390 hrs)

520
520
260
0

520
520
260
0

520
260
260
130

260
260
260
130

130
130
130
130

130
130
130
0

Total Hours Worked (Numerator)

1,300

1,300

1,170

910

520

390

Quarterly FTE Reported

2.50

2.50

2.25

1.75

1.0

0.75

Note Relating to OMB Circular A-21: For recipients of assistance agreements that must
comply with OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, an alternative
calculation based upon the allocable and allowable portion of activities expressed as a
percentage is acceptable to estimate jobs created and retained. OMB Circular A-21
recognizes that practices vary among educational institutions as to the activity constituting a
full workload. Compensation charged to sponsored projects must conform to the
institution’s established policies and reasonably reflect the activity for which the employee
is compensated. Charges to sponsored projects may be expressed as a percentage of their
total activities. Therefore, for purposes of ARRA reporting of jobs created or retained,
colleges and universities may count, proportionately, the percentage of effort directly
charged to ARRA awards as an FTE equivalent.
Under this alternative calculation and consistent with this Guidance, job estimates will be
reported:
1. Based on the total available time in the reporting period, regardless of when the grant
period or employment period begins.
For example, if a lab technician charges 100% effort on a project for only one month in
the quarter being reported (but zero effort the other two months because no work was
performed or the grant was not yet awarded), then the recipient report should reflect 0.33
FTE for that individual.
14

2. For all reporting periods that the grant is active.
For example, if a researcher provides 100% effort in the grant’s first quarter and 50% effort
in the grant’s second quarter, the recipient report for the first quarter will reflect 1 FTE and
the second will reflect 0.5 FTE.
5.4

What are the step-by-step instructions for recipients to calculate their estimates of jobs
created and retained using the formula above?

Successful use of the formula is dependent upon correctly inputting the appropriate number
of hours in the numerator (or “top” of the formula) and the denominator (or “bottom” of the
formula). This section will walk through the steps recipients must take to use the formula to
calculate jobs estimates for projects and activities fully funded by Recovery Act funds. The
following Section 5.5 outlines how to calculate estimates for projects and activities with multiple
funding streams (i.e. partially funded by the Recovery Act).
Elaborating upon the example provided earlier in Section 5.3, assume the recipient is City
Library with a standard full-time work week of 40 hours. The library receives a Recovery grant and
is able to hire two full-time librarians and one part-time bookkeeper. These three new hires are in
addition to the two full-time librarians already employed by City Library who are paid out of a nonRecovery Act funding source.
First, City Library assesses which hours worked should be included into the calculation by
looking at its payroll. It will only include the hours worked for Washington, Madison and Jefferson
whose jobs were funded by the Recovery Act.
Funded by the
Recovery Act?
No

ARRA Hours
Worked in Qrtr
0

Employee Name
J. Adams

Job Title
Librarian

A. Jackson

Librarian

No

0

M. Washington

Librarian

Yes

520

D. Madison

Librarian

Yes

520

T. Jefferson

Bookkeeper

Yes

260

TOTAL HOURS FUNDED IN QUARTER

1,300

The library will not include the hours worked by Adams or Jackson whose jobs were funded
from sources other than the Recovery Act.
City Library maintains a 40 hour per week full-time schedule. It must represent its full-time
schedule in reporting quarters, not work weeks. To do this City Library must:
(a) Calculate how many full-time work hours are in a quarter:
40 hours in a full-time work week schedule
x 13 weeks in a quarter
520 total work hours in a quarter

15

(b) City Library enters its calculations into the numerator and denominator of the
formula to convert its hours worked into FTEs for the estimate of jobs created and
retained by its Recovery grant.
1300 Recovery Act Funded Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act

2.5
FTE

=

520 Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

City Library will report 2.5 FTEs into the “Number of Jobs” data field in FederalReporting.gov.
Assume now that in a subsequent quarter, City Library begins paying Adams and Jackson
with Recovery Act funds along with other employees. Then Adams and Jackson should count
toward the numerator in that quarter. The new numerator is now 2,340.

Funded by the
Recovery Act?
Yes

ARRA Hours
Worked in Qrtr
520

Employee Name
J. Adams

Job Title
Librarian

A. Jackson

Librarian

Yes

520

M. Washington

Librarian

Yes

520

D. Madison

Librarian

Yes

520

T. Jefferson

Bookkeeper

Yes

260

TOTAL HOURS FUNDED IN QUARTER

2,340

The denominator remains the same, as a full-time schedule for City Library is still 520 work
hours per quarter. Entering the new numerator, City Library obtains a new estimate of the number
of FTE jobs created and retained by its Recovery Grant:
2,340 Recovery Act Funded Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act
520 Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

=

4.5
FTE

In the subsequent quarter, City Library will report 4.5 FTEs into the “Number of Jobs” data
field in FederalReporting.gov.
5.5

How do recipients include estimates for jobs partially funded by the Recovery Act?

In calculating an FTE for situations in which hours worked are partly funded by the
Recovery Act, recipients should use the steps outlined in Section 5.3, and in doing so, assess what
portion of hours worked are funded by the Recovery Act. For example, County Corrections assesses
which hours worked should be included into the calculation by looking at its payroll. It will only
include the hours worked for Carter, Coolidge, and Taylor whose jobs were funded by the Recovery
Act.

16

Funded by the
Recovery Act?
No

Hours Worked
Total
n/a

Hours Funded
by ARRA

Employee Name
H. Hoover

Job Title
Guard

W. Harding

Custodian

No

n/a

J. Carter

Technician

Yes

520

520

C. Coolidge

Guard

Yes

520

130

Z. Taylor

Guard

Yes

520

130

1,560

780

TOTAL HOURS WORKED IN QUARTER

County Corrections will not include the hours worked by Hoover or Harding who were
already employed prior to receiving the Recovery grant and whose jobs were funded from sources
other than the Recovery Act.
County Corrections determines that part of Coolidge and Taylor’s time was funded from the
Recovery Act and part was funded from other sources. Specifically, 25% of the hours for Coolidge
and Taylor were paid for with Recovery Act funds. County Corrections thus adjusts the hours of
Coolidge and Taylor downward from 520 to 130. County Corrections determines that Carter’s job is
fully funded by the Recovery Act, so it counts all of his hours. Now County Corrections applies the
same remaining steps from Section 5.4 above:
(a) Calculate how many full-time work hours are in a quarter.
40 hours in a full-time work week schedule
x 13 weeks in a quarter
520 total work hours in a quarter
(b) County Correction enters its calculations into the numerator and denominator of the
formula to convert its hours worked into FTEs for the estimate of jobs created and
retained by its Recovery grant.
780 Recovery Act Funded Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act
520 Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

=

1.5
FTE

County Corrections will report 1.5 FTEs into the “Number of Jobs” data field in
FederalReporting.gov.
Alternatively, County Corrections may know the overall portion of Recovery Act funds used
to pay the salary of its employees, but it may not have that information for each individual
employee. In that case, County Corrections should use an alternative calculation in which an
adjustment is made to the FTE number to match the appropriate percentage of Recovery funding.
For example, suppose the work hours for Carter, Coolidge and Taylor are funded partly by the
Recovery Act and partly with local funds, with half of the funding coming from the Recovery Act.
Then County Corrections will first count the total number of FTEs associated with these three jobs,
and second adjust these FTEs based on the proportion of funding associated with the Recovery Act.
17

Funded by the
Recovery Act?
No

Hours Worked
Total
n/a

Employee Name
H. Hoover

Job Title
Guard

W. Harding

Custodian

No

n/a

J. Carter

Technician

Yes

520

C. Coolidge

Guard

Yes

520

Z. Taylor

Guard

Yes

520

TOTAL HOURS WORKED IN QUARTER

1,560

(a) Calculate how many full-time work hours are in a quarter.
40 hours in a full-time work week schedule
x 13 weeks in a quarter
520 total work hours in a quarter
(b) County Corrections enters the total hours worked for its employees into the
numerator and the total quarterly hours into the denominator to convert its hours worked
into FTEs for the estimate of jobs created and retained by its Recovery-funded project.
1,560 Recovery Act Funded Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act
520 Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

=

3.0
FTE

Now, given that County Corrections determined that employees were funded 50% by the
Recovery Act, it multiplies the number of FTEs by 50% to obtain the number of Recovery Act
FTEs:
3 Total FTEs

X 50% =

1.5 FTE

County Corrections will report 1.5 FTE into the “Number of Jobs” data field in
FederalReporting.gov.

5.6

Will recipients be able to calculate their jobs estimates by using a tool such as a “jobs
calculator?”

While there is not currently an online Recovery Act “jobs calculator,” this Guidance
provides a straightforward summary document of the calculation methodology. The summary
outlines the necessary calculations to estimate the jobs created and retained for Recovery funded
projects or activities by Recovery award. See ARRA Jobs Worksheet, Attachment A.
5.7

How should recipients estimate the job impact of funding provided to sub-recipients?

Recipients must include an estimate of jobs created and retained on projects and activities
managed by their funding recipients (i.e. sub-recipients) in the “Number of Jobs” field and their
18

narrative description. This information will be provided for each project and activity funded by the
Recovery Act. The clarification that recipients must report jobs estimates for all sub-awarded funds
was an update from guidance prior to June 2009. 4
For example, City Library receives a $10 million Recovery Act-funded grant to develop a
youth summer reading program. Assume the library uses $1 million to administer the program,
including the hiring of five FTE, and distributes nine $1 million grants to area nonprofits focused on
reading and education. In this case, City Library will report the direct job creation of the 5 FTE,
and it would also provide an estimate of the total employment impact of the nine $1 million grants
(using the same FTE methodology discussed in Section 5.3).
Prime recipients are required to generate estimates of job impact by directly collecting
specific data from sub-recipients and vendors 5 on the total FTE resulting from a sub-award. To the
maximum extent practicable, information should be collected from all sub-recipients and vendors in
order to generate the most comprehensive and complete job impact numbers available.
5.8

In what circumstances are jobs reported in a prior quarter included or removed from
a recipient’s reports in a subsequent quarter?

Once a job is reported by a recipient as created or retained by the Recovery Act, the
recipient shall continue to report this job as created or retained in subsequent quarters as long as the
job continues to be funded by the Recovery Act. The example below demonstrates this principle:
City Public Transportation reported 5 jobs in Quarter 1, consistent with the below table and
calculation.
QUARTER 1
Funded by the
Recovery Act?
Yes

Hours Worked
Total
520

Hours Funded
by ARRA
520

Employee Name
J. Q. Adams

Job Title
Driver

A. Johnson

Mechanic

Yes

520

520

C. A. Arthur

Mechanic

Yes

520

520

G. Cleveland

Driver

Yes

520

520

R. Nixon

Mechanic

Yes

520

520

2,600

2,600

TOTAL HOURS WORKED IN QUARTER

(a) Calculate how many full-time work hours are in a quarter.
40 hours in a full-time work week schedule
x 13 weeks in a quarter
520 total work hours in a quarter
4

Recipients are no longer permitted to request the use of statistical sampling. In previous guidance, OMB included the
option for statistical sampling, but no recipients applied for this option within the Federal agency deadline.
5
Except as provided by Section 5.2.8, job estimates regarding vendors of prime- or sub-recipients as defined in Section
2.2 should be limited to direct job impacts for the vendor and not include “indirect” or “induced” jobs (see Sections
5.2.7 and 5.2.8).

19

(b) City Public Transportation enters its calculations into the numerator and denominator
of the formula to convert its hours worked into FTEs for the estimate of jobs created and
retained by its Recovery grant.
2,600 Recovery Act Funded Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act

=

5 FTE

520 Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

City Public Transportation will report 5 FTEs into the “Number of Jobs” data field in
FederalReporting.gov for Quarter 1.

QUARTER 2
Funded by the
Recovery Act?
Yes

Hours Worked
Total
520

Hours Funded
by ARRA
520

Employee Name
J. Q. Adams

Job Title
Driver

A. Johnson

Mechanic

Yes

520

520

C. A. Arthur

Mechanic

Yes

520

520

G. Cleveland

Driver

Yes

520

0

R. Nixon

Mechanic

Yes

520

0

2,600

1,560

TOTAL HOURS WORKED IN QUARTER

In Quarter 2, City Public Transportation no longer funds Cleveland and Nixon with
Recovery Act dollars. However, City Public Transportation continues to fund Adams, Johnson and
Arthur with Recovery Act dollars. City Public Transportation will do the following calculation for
Quarter 2:
(a) Calculate how many full-time work hours are in a quarter.
40 hours in a full-time work week schedule
x 13 weeks in a quarter
520 total work hours in a quarter
(b) City Public Transportation enters its calculations into the numerator and denominator
of the formula to convert its hours worked into FTEs for the estimate of jobs created and
retained by its Recovery grant.
1,560 Recovery Act Funded Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act

=

3 FTE

520 Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

City Public Transportation will report 3 FTEs into the “Number of Jobs” data field in
FederalReporting.gov for Quarter 2.
A different situation arises if the workers are hired for a definite term, with a plan to pay a
portion of their wages and salaries over that term with Recovery Act funds and the remaining
portion with non-Recovery Act funds. In this case, the recipient should compute the jobs created or
saved as in the second example of Section 5.5, above: It should compute the total number of FTEs
involved in the project in the relevant quarter, then multiply this by the share of the project’s costs
20

that are paid with Recovery Act funds. The resulting number of Recovery Act FTEs should be
reported in the “Number of Jobs” data field. This is true even if the Recovery Act and nonRecovery Act funds are charged at different times during the course of the project. For example,
suppose that a recipient school district plans to use a combination of Recovery Act funds and nonRecovery Act funds to hire 100 new, full time teachers for the school year, with half of the funds
coming from the Recovery Act. Then the recipient should: 1) count all the hours worked by the
teachers in the current reporting quarter (5,200); 2) divide that number into the number of hours in a
full time schedule for a quarter (520), yielding a total of 100 FTEs; and 3) multiply this number by
the percentage of the project funded by the Recovery Act (50%). Thus, the district reports 50 FTEs
in each quarter. The reporting is the same if the Recovery Act funds are drawn down evenly across
the four quarters of the year or if Recovery Act funds are used exclusively for the first half of the
year and non-Recovery Act funds are used for the second half; the key factor is the share of the
overall project funded by the Recovery Act.
This example should be distinguished from the example of City Public Transportation
above. In that example, it was assumed that the recipient hired its employees for an indefinite term.
Thus, each quarter, the recipient must re-determine the percentage of work hours (if any) funded by
the Recovery Act. When the recipient stops paying Cleveland and Nixon with Recovery Act funds,
it no longer counts their work hours when calculating the job total. By contrast, in the school
district example, the employees were hired for a defined period of one year with a plan to use both
Recovery Act and non-Recovery Act funds to pay their salaries. Thus, as long as the 100 FTEs
continue to work in each quarter of that year, the 50 jobs (discounted to reflect partial funding)
should be reported in each quarter. Even if the recipient expended only the Recovery Act portion of
funds in the first two quarters of the school year to pay the salaries for the 100 teachers and then
expended only the non-Recovery Act portion of the funds in the second two quarters of the school
year to pay the salaries of these same 100 teachers, then the recipient should still report 50 jobs in
each of the four reporting quarters.
5.9

Can a job be reported as created or retained before Recovery Act dollars are
expended?

As described in Section 5.2 above, a funded job is defined as one in which the wages or
salaries are either paid for or will be reimbursed with Recovery Act funding. Thus, a job that is
paid initially with non-Recovery Act dollars may be reported as created or retained as long as such
dollars eventually will be reimbursed with Recovery Act funds for the jobs being reported. For
example, a recipient may decide to begin hiring new employees as soon they are notified of the
amount of their Recovery Act award, but before Recovery Act dollars are received or expended. If,
in this situation, the non-Recovery Act dollars that are paying the wages of the new employees were
used as an advance on the Recovery Act dollars awarded, the recipient can appropriately report
these jobs as created or retained. However, if the recipient does not intend to use its Recovery Act
award to reimburse for the previous expenditure of non-Recovery Act funds on wages and salaries,
then the hours for such jobs should not reported in the calculation of jobs created or retained. If the
reimbursement occurs after the job is terminated, the recipient only reports the jobs as created or
retained during quarters in which the employment actually occurred.

21

5.10

When should recipients make corrections to incorrect job estimates and any other
incorrect data from prior reporting quarters?

As noted in Section 5.2 above, effective February 2, 2010, the FederalReporting.gov
solution will be open for continuous corrections of data. However, such corrections can only be
made for the reporting quarter (i.e., the most recent quarter). Corrections for prior quarters will be
handled as follows:
•
•

Federal agencies subject to this Guidance shall instruct recipients to maintain within their
administrative records comprehensive information on any and all necessary corrections to
prior quarter data.
Recipients will be required, at a time and process to be specified in the future, to submit this
information to the Federal government, after which the Recovery and Accountability
Transparency Board will determine the best approach for making this information available
on Recovery.gov.

Consistent with requirements of Section 1512 (c) of the Recovery Act, recipients are
required to make corrections to erroneous or missing data submitted in prior quarters. As noted
above, this information will not be submitted through FederalReporting.gov at this time. Instead,
recipients wishing to make corrections or non-reporters wishing to submit reports for prior quarters
shall maintain this information in their administrative records for submission in a manner to be
specified at a later date. Also, the clarifications to the definition of a job created or retained
included in this guidance are not intended to be retroactive to the quarter ending September 30,
2009. Thus, recipients are not required to re-calculate and/or correct job estimate totals for the
quarter ending September 30, 2009 based on the definitional clarifications in this guidance. Any
corrections to job estimate totals reported for the quarter ending September 30, 2009 should rely on
the definition of a created or retained job included in the prior guidance, OMB Memorandum 09-21,
issued June 22, 2009.
5.11 What previously published jobs-related guidance exists for recipients submitting their
Section 1512 recipient reports?
This Guidance updates the original Section 5 – Reporting on Jobs Creation Estimates by
Recipients of OMB Memorandum 09-21
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-21.pdf). The Recipient
Reporting Data Model, Supplement 2 of M-09-21, has also been updated to align with all changes
included in this updated guidance. The updated Supplement 2 can be found at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_fy2009/m09-21-supp2.pdf. This guidance
supersedes all Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to jobs guidance issued since the passage
of the Recovery Act. The relevant FAQs have been removed from the OMB website and
Recovery.gov to avoid confusion. Federal agencies are in the process of updating agency or
program-specific guidance to align with the updates in this guidance.
It is expected that such guidance document will be updated imminently and be made
available on agency Recovery websites (e.g. www.agency.gov/recovery). Recipients are
encouraged to contact their Federal awarding agency for further information.
22

Attachment A. ARRA Jobs Worksheet for Quarterly Reporting
PREFERRED
STEP 1: Calculate Quarterly Hours in a Full-Time Schedule.
A. Start by determining the standard hours in a full-time work week schedule as
illustrated below. This example uses 40 hours, but other standards are possible.
B. Multiply this amount by 13 weeks to determine the quarterly number of hours for
full-time work:

40 Hours in full-time work week X 13 weeks per year = 520 Total Quarterly Hours
STEP 2: Calculate the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) for this Quarter.
A. Determine the number of hours worked in positions funded by the Recovery Act
within the current quarter. For example, a full-time employee working 40 hours per
week during the entire quarter will work 520 hours in the quarterly reporting period.
B. Divide this number by the “Quarterly Hours in a Full-Time Schedule” number
calculated in STEP 1. This calculation should be performed for each employee
working under Recovery Act funding within the reporting quarter (add each together
to calculate an FTE total):

520 Hours Worked and Funded by Recovery Act
520 Quarterly Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

= 1.0 FTE

For this example, the FTE figure “1.0” should be reported within the “Number of
Jobs” data field in FederalReporting.gov.

(If Needed) Reflect Partial ARRA Funding.
A. Count all hours worked on the project. In this example, a total of 520 hours were
worked on the project and the total number of quarter hours in a full time schedule
is 520 hours. The recipient determines the amount of hours, by employee, funded
by the Recovery Act (in this case, 50%) and totals only those hours.
B. Calculate FTE:

260 Hours Worked
520 Quarterly Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

= 0.5 FTE

For this example, the FTE figure “0.5” should be reported within the “Number of
Jobs” data field in FederalReporting.gov.
23

OR the recipient does not have the information by employee, but knows the overall
percentage of the work hours funded by the Recovery Act (in this case, 50%).
Calculate FTE:

520 Hours Worked
520 Quarterly Hours in a Full-Time Schedule

= 1 FTE

1 FTE x 50% = 0.5 FTE
For this example, the FTE figure “0.5” should be reported within the “Number of
Jobs” data field in FederalReporting.gov.

24