The scale of unemployment in the US makes each individual job seem less impactful than the proverbial drop in the bucket, but each individual story of a job gained still carries emotional weight well beyond the economic gains.

At least that’s the hope in this unusually personal and emotional video from the US Energy Department, posted two weeks ago on its Youtube channel as new job numbers showed a renewed slowing in an economy where growth failed to meaningfully pick up after the 2008 financial crisis despite unprecedented amounts of government stimulus.

The video features a production technician employee at A123 Systems, which makes lithium ion batteries for vehicle and grid storage and received $249 million in Recovery Act money. The company has recently hired its 1000th employee, the Department of Energy says, and has a number of facilities in Michigan, increasingly a high-profile state for clean energy manufacturing and production.

“This is a great start,” featured employee Annette Herrera says in the video, and the Obama Administration, as the final billions trickle out and political headwinds intensify, can only hope that she’s right.

For more on the stimulus program and its impact on energy, watch: Defending The Energy Stimulus.