Acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab, speaking at the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Health and Safety Conference Day, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Friday, September 25, 2009, had this to say about OSHA’s humble attempt at reducing the nation’s unemployment rate:

“To support our efforts, President Obama has asked for the biggest increase in OSHA's budget in anyone's memory - over 10 percent. This increase of $50.6 million for the Agency would allow us to hire more than 200 new employees - including 130 more inspectors, 25 more discrimination investigators to pursue whistleblower complaints, and 20 more staff members who will help develop workplace standards for safety and health.

”Let me repeat: If anyone here is looking for a job ensuring that workers are able to exercise their right to a safe workplace - we're hiring!

”Across the country, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - the ‘ARRA’ - is prompting a big boost in infrastructure projects, such as highway, transit and energy construction. With this increase in construction activities, OSHA will step up its inspections to ensure that everyone is working safely.

On the federal level,OSHA is raising the number of worksite inspections to 40,000 a year - increasing our presence where we're needed most.