The White House said yesterday that its $787 billion economic stimulus plan has saved or created more than 1 million jobs, softening the impact of a recession that has put 7.6 million more Americans on the unemployment line.

White House economics adviser Jared Bernstein said the stimulus measure prevented the unemployment rate, currently at 9.8 percent and rising according to most forecasts, from climbing even higher.

"We'd be worrying about 11 [percent] instead of 10 and by the time this is over, we'd be worrying about 12 [percent] instead of 11," Mr. Bernstein said in an interview.

The jobs tally is based on President Barack Obama's stimulus package -- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- approved by Congress in February. It provided $275 billion in federal contracts, grants and loans, $224 billion in funding for education, health care, unemployment benefits and other programs and $288 billion in individual and business tax cuts. It includes about 640,300 jobs created by grants, loans and contracts.

The jobs include assistance to state and local government for keeping teachers and law enforcement officers on their payrolls and construction workers for roads and other projects, Mr. Bernstein said.

Two stimulus measures, the "Cash for Clunkers" program for car buyers and tax credits for first-time home buyers, were largely responsible for generating 3.5 percent economic growth in the third quarter. But concerns persist about the staying power of the recovery and how strong it will be.

Those doubts were reinforced yesterday, when the government reported that consumer spending fell 0.5 percent last month and wages and benefits rose 1.5 percent over the last 12 months, the smallest increase since 1982. About 15 million Americans are out of work, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

"The lack of income support, reduced wealth, high debt and tight credit are all weighing consumers down, as illustrated in recent lackluster readings on consumer sentiment," IHS Global Insight economist Nigel Gault said.

On Wall Street, the news wiped out gains recorded Thursday after the Commerce Department reported the third quarter increase in the nation's gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity. The Dow fell 250 points, or 2.5 percent, yesterday while the S&P 500 declined 2.8 percent and the Nasdaq finished 2.5 percent lower.

Mr. Bernstein said the GDP numbers indicate "that we've pulled back from the abyss," but that more must be done.

"We have to squeeze every job possible out of every dollar in that act," he said.

The president has taken a number of initiatives to help manufacturers, Mr. Bernstein said, adding that Mr. Obama's commitment to industry "led him to make the right call" on providing aid to General Motors and Chrysler.

Many industry groups are critical of the Obama administration, sayings its health care and environmental proposals will burden them with costs that jeopardize their competitiveness. Other cite Mr. Obama's failure to thwart Chinese policy of devaluing its currency, which undermines U.S. manufacturers.

Mr. Bernstein also cited White House proposals to boost lending to small businesses, which the president has called "the engine of job growth." This month, Mr. Obama proposed raising borrowing limits on several Small Business Administration loan programs and providing money to small and community banks that detail a plan for lending it to small businesses.

That plan, like aid being provided to larger banks, would impose restrictions on compensation and dividends that the banks could pay, Mr. Bernstein said. But the curbs would be less restrictive because small banks have much different pay plans than larger banks, he said.

"Small business can be instrumental in leading us out of the downturn, especially on the jobs front," Mr. Bernstein said.

Pay and dividend restrictions have caused some banks to shun the assistance or to repay it quickly.

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