The Obama administration unveiled a $4bn plan to upgrade public housing for low-income Americans, as part of an ambitious green job-creation project.
The renovation program will replace windows, insulation and even light bulbs in aging and neglected housing stock.
The labor secretary, Hilda Solis, will also announce $500m to train up workers for the new jobs. Of those funds, $50m will be directed to regions that have been hardest hit by the recession – such as the rustbelt state of Michigan where the unemployment rate is now 12%