The Public Works Administration (known by its acronym PWA) was an entity created by the United States government during the Great Depression, as a form of aid to unemployed workers, providing funds for the hiring of specialized labor in public works projects on a massive scale.

The PWA was created as an initiative of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's advisors such as Harold L. Ickes, James Farley, and Henry A. Wallace, as part of the New Deal, and officially began operating under the name Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works in June 1933 with the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act or NIRA. The plan established for the PWA was to promote the execution of public works by granting private firms the contracts for the execution of such works throughout the United States, in such a way that private contractors would be the ones to execute said works and recruit unemployed people, counting on government financing for this, within rules for hiring labor and deadlines for the delivery of the work.

Due to these characteristics, PWA operations focused on the construction of large infrastructure works such as bridges, dams, dams, and roads, stimulating the hiring of unemployed people with certain job training as a way to increase their purchasing power and thus revitalize the country's economy. Financing from the federal government was carried out after planning the works to be carried out and the geographical areas to benefit, then selecting a contractor that would operate with public funds; Most of the government spending occurred in the period 1933-1935 and then again in 1938, finally adding up to a total expenditure of 6,000 million dollars at the time.

During its operation, the PWA was directed by Harold Ickes, one of President Roosevelt's main advisors, showing efficiency in its operations despite the fact that it suffered various criticisms when it was accused of being slow in determining the works to be carried out, as well as in the selection of the contractor and financing. On the other hand, there were various questions about the selection of the States to benefit from such programs.

Despite this, the PWA was not branded as ineffective as its competing program, the WPA (Works Progress Administration), since the PWA did not directly execute the works nor did it target a mass of unskilled unemployed. Furthermore, while the WPA hired workers of all types (trained or not) to be paid directly with public funds, the PWA was only dedicated to public works carried out by private contractors; At the same time, PWA projects were aimed at infrastructure works, while the WPA often financed jobs in activities outside of public works (such as projects for artists and writers), which marked a contrast between both entities.