HONOLULU — The White House Council of Economic Advisers says the Recovery Act was responsible for 11,000 jobs in Hawaii in the first quarter of 2010.

Friday's announcement follows a CEA report released earlier this week that said the act was responsible for about 2.5 million jobs nationwide in the same period.

The CEA says half of those jobs were a result of more than $200 billion in Recovery Act tax relief and financial assistance that went to mostly lower- and middle-income families.

Vice President Joe Biden said in a Washington news release that from tax cuts to construction projects, the Recovery Act is now "firing on all cylinders" when it comes to creating jobs and putting Americans back to work.