July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration’s efforts to rebuild America’s economy are working and he expressed frustration with those who say progress is too slow.

“Remember, we’re only 140 days into this deal. It’s supposed to take 18 months,” Biden said in a speech after touring a redevelopment project in Cincinnati.

Biden ticked off the programs funded through the $787 billion economic stimulus measure enacted in February. Thousands of jobs a day have been saved and interest rates have been kept low, saving middle-class families $1,200 to $1,600 a year in mortgage payments, he said.

Ohio’s economy has been hit hard by the recession. The state’s unemployment rate in May was 10.8 percent, up from 10.2 percent in April and higher than the national average of 9.4 percent. The state lost 4.9 percent of its jobs between May 2008 and 2009, and manufacturing jobs plummeted by 16.7 percent during that period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The vice president’s trip follows a poll that found that President Barack Obama’s approval rating has dropped by 13 percentage points from two months ago in Ohio, traditionally a critical swing state in presidential elections.

The survey by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University released July 7 showed 49 percent of Ohio voters approved of Obama’s job performance, down from 62 percent in a May 6 poll. The disapproval figure for Obama in the new poll was 44 percent, up from 31 percent in May.

‘As Bad as Anywhere’

“The economy in Ohio is as bad as anywhere in America,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The poll numbers “indicate that for the first time voters have decided that President Barack Obama bears some responsibility for their problems.”

Ohio “has been hard hit through no fault of your own,” Biden told the crowd today. So far, $4.4 billion in Recovery Act funds have been set aside for Ohio, including $2 billion for education, $1 billion for health care and $445 million for transportation, he said.

“These investments are already lifting up Cincinnati,” he said.

Biden toured the site of the American Can Company, an abandoned factory on the city’s north side which is being converted into a complex of apartments, offices and stores. Stimulus funds will pay $1.6 million of the project’s cost and create as many as 100 jobs, Biden said.

Upstate New York

Biden made similar comments about the stimulus plan later today following a visit to a high school in Clifton Park in upstate New York.

“I see it everywhere we go,” he said. “Communities being rebuilt, factories being reopened, workers rehired -- teachers in their classrooms, cops on the streets, families better able to live a quality life. With the Recovery Act, Saratoga County and America are reclaiming our proud past -- and, while we’re at it, creating a better future.”

To date, $16 billion in Recovery Act funds have been obligated to New York State, including $2 billion for education and $700 million for transportation projects, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kate Andersen in Washington at Kandersen7@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 9, 2009 17:11 EDT