The US-led administration in Iraq said today US-funded reconstruction contracts would generate more than 50,000 jobs for Iraqis by July.
Mr David Nash, director of the administration's Program Management Office (PMO), told a news conference that $18.6 billion would be spent.
Two-thirds of this would finance 2,300 construction projects nationwide. The rest would go on "non-construction goods and purposes" which includes the cost of equipment and training.
Mr Nash said Iraqis who wanted jobs should help counter the instability plaguing the country. "We hope that those who want the jobs should do what they can to deter the saboteurs and terrorists," he said. "Security must be an essential part in the entire programme."
Mr Nash said companies that bid on prime contracts will be encouraged to train and hire Iraqis to help reduce the unemployment rate. There are no official unemployment estimates but last October the World Bank said up to half of the working-age population was unemployed or underemployed.
Countries such as France that opposed the war in Iraq were told they could not apply for the US-funded contracts, provoking a storm of protest. US officials say the policy may be changed.
Mr Nash made his comments a day after a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the US seat of power in Baghdad, killing at least 20 people in the deadliest attack since the capture of Saddam Hussein.