DATE: 08-06-09
CONTACT: Keener A. Tippin II (573) 751-9065

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) Director Linda Martínez announced that Missouri has been approved for a $592,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will assist thousands of unemployed workers across the state to receive targeted reemployment services that will help them to prepare for new careers.

DED's Division of Workforce Development will collaborate with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to implement the grant, which will provide enhanced services for laid-off workers in six locations across the state.

The services will be delivered through Missouri Career Centers and include in-person assessments, individual work-search plans and other services to help job seekers – specifically those who are receiving unemployment insurance – access the most appropriate array of career assistance.

This grant will supplement a current strategy being implemented across the state to help reemploy unemployment insurance recipients. On July 1, the first of 60 temporary workers hired using funds from the Recovery Act began working at Career Centers across the state.

These additional staff help centers deal with the increase in customer demand for career assistance services, according to Gilbert Hake, deputy program administrator of Career Center Services for DWD. The State estimates approximately 60,000 job seekers will be served each month under these plans.

See www.workforce.mo.gov or call 1-888-728-JOBS to learn more about dislocated worker services available through Missouri's workforce system.