A report out this afternoon from the U.S. Department of Education shows North Carolina saved or created 22,398 government jobs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Barb Barrett reports.

The state legislature has used nearly three-fourths of the $1.2 billion grant it received from the federal government to plug the state budget holes for this year’s and next year’s budgets. The rest has yet to be spent.

As a result, the state says it has saved or created 8,916 jobs mainstream education jobs for teachers, principals, counselors, transportation workers and custodians.

Another 1,461 jobs were created or saved in lower-income Title I schools, along with 1,670 jobs created or saved in special education.

Most of the jobs saved -- 10,343 – were in government services. Those included jobs in prison custody; food service; medical, education and administrative staff; probation and parole officers; and substance abuse counselors.