Job Find Programs the Department

Job Find Programs

The Department of Labor was designed to provide benefits to those who had been working and then lost their jobs. For the past few decades the department has done more than just pay out benefits by way of a weekly check until the recipient either got a new position or their money ran out. The department has offered job programs designed to help the recipients of benefits locate and obtain new employment. The job programs are successful for certain segments of the population but miss the mark when it comes to the people in the lower socio-economic segment of society.

In 1994 a research group was started that was aimed at determining ways to get as many people as possible back into the workforce. Since that time the group has also conducted studies to determine how many tax dollars have been wasted due to overpayments of unemployment insurance benefits and whether or not these losses have been passed on to the worker by way of lower wages.

Economic studies have further concluded that the companies have passed the losses onto the workers by paying new hires lower wages to recoup the money they lost in overpayments of unemployment (Fiscal, 2007).

The next thing that was researched was the effectiveness of unemployment insurance employees in their efforts to help recipients locate jobs. The study found that the staff was more effective in helping recipients find jobs than the recipients were on their own.

To that end various states employed job programs aimed at locating jobs and placing recipients of unemployment benefits in those jobs.

Oregon, for 10 years, that state experimented with a subsidized wage program for low-skilled UI recipients. The program helped people who were likely to experience a long spell of unemployment to find work rapidly through subsidized jobs. The program was funded by a state diversion tax and was found to save more dollars than it cost -- while helping the most disadvantaged UI recipients get work (Fiscal, 2007)."

Current System

The current job find system of the department of labor is an effective program when it comes to helping those who came from skilled markets and were simply the subject of layoffs. The program lacks power when it comes to those from a lower socioeconomic population.

The U.S. Department of Labor today released $154,962 to assist approximately 86 trade- affected workers in New Mexico. The funding, provided through the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, will enable the state to continue providing training to workers certified as eligible to receive TAA benefits (Labor, 2006). "New Mexico will use the funds released today to provide trade-affected workers with training and other assistance, to help them prepare for careers in industries experiencing growth," said Assistant Secretary of Labor Emily Stover DeRocco of the Employment and Training Administration (Labor, 2006). "These funds will provide eligible workers with up to 104 weeks of training (Labor, 2006). Additionally, these workers can receive up to two years of income support and help with job search and relocation expenses (Labor, 2006)."

Congress allocates approximately $220 million annually for TAA training (Labor, 2006). Each year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration allocates 75% of available TAA funds, or $165 million (Labor, 2006). The remaining 25% of funds are reserved for states experiencing large, unexpected layoffs during the year. States may request additional money from the reserve account after they have spent at least 50% of the allocated TAA funds (Labor, 2006). "

As this allotment and others like it illustrate the job programs in place are designed to help those who have educations or trade backgrounds and experience.

They provide additional benefits and perks to those in that position but for those who are unskilled and have been laid off of minimum wage positions the job programs do very little to assist them.

A case in point was when Kmart opted to close down more than 300 of its stores nationwide that were underperforming with revenue.

The decision impacted more than 300,000 employees and a program was implemented to extend unemployment benefits to those who needed it and to provide training and relocation to those who wanted to be retrained and get new jobs.

One recent study showed that for every dollar spent the department of labor saved more than six dollars that would have been paid out in benefits (EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS GENERATE DOLLARS (http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=8&ID=2413).

The report shows that from an expenditure of $14,213,309 in primarily federal and state grants the Department of Labor receives to administer employment and training programs in Suffolk County, $94,858,124 was returned (EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS GENERATE DOLLARS (http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp3.cfm?dept=8&ID=2413).