The economic stimulus promised from the $16 billion Gateway rail tunnel project beneath the Hudson River is starting to show up in workers' wallets — not just in North Jersey, but across the country, according to a new analysis.

The first five of nine construction contracts for the program are expected to support more than 20,000 jobs, $4.5 billion in economic output and $1.7 billion in wages, according to a report written by Gateway Development Commission staff and its financial consultant, Ernst & Young.

About 94% of the $2.2 billion in capital spending through those five contracts is expected to be sourced in the U.S.

And the report's authors estimate that every $10 spent on direct labor for those five contracts supports more than $17 in wages and benefits across the country.

"The latest analysis of current construction activity shows an immediate and quantifiable return on investment in big, bold megaprojects" such as the Hudson tunnel project, the report said. "As increasingly complex and large-scale operations accelerate on both sides of the Hudson River, so do opportunities for American workers and businesses."

The new tunnel between North Jersey and Manhattan is meant to provide more reliable service along the Northeast Corridor for NJ Transit and Amtrak riders entering and leaving Manhattan's Penn Station. Once it is completed, work will begin to rehabilitate the existing tunnel, which was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

Construction workers account for about 11,200 direct jobs created by Gateway's first five contracts. That equates to $959 million in wages and benefits thanks to the labor agreements reached with trade unions that provide a consistent and qualified workforce for the projects and strong membership for the unions.