The Obama administration reportedly is changing the way it counts jobs created or saved by stimulus spending in a way that will make the programs look far more successful.

Under the old rules, only jobs that were actually newly created or not lost because of stimulus money were counted, propublica.org reports.

Now, the administration plans to count all jobs for projects funded by stimulus money — even if that job already existed and the person was never in danger of losing the job.

However, Representative Darrell Issa says the Obama administration is trying to pump up job numbers by counting jobs that weren’t created or retained.

“I think ‘jobs created or saved’ has simply lost all its credibility,” Issa said in an interview. “It was opportunistic accounting from Day One.”

Under the stimulus package, nearly anyone receiving a contract, grant or loan is required to file a report each quarter detailing how the stimulus money was used and how many people were put to work.

With tens of thousands of recipients now scrambling to meet the Jan. 15 deadline for the next report, the new guidance could significantly change what the public sees.

The new rules came out last month in a largely unnoticed memo sent to federal agencies by Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Regions and states that received ample stimulus funding for building roads and bridges had unemployment rates equally as high as areas that didn't receive stimulus money, a new Associated Press analysis found.