How To Find Free Workers

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Last month, the unemployment rate was 8.3 percent, which translates into 12.8 million Americans out of a job.

There’s a lot of talk about the causes and solutions of the stubbornly high unemployment rate, but relatively little about some programs already in place that are helping employers find workers and workers find jobs.

For example, many states are offering incentives to persuade employers to hire more workers, including sometimes even paying months of a new hire’s salary.

In the video below, Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson met with one employer who has taken advantage of some of these programs. Check it out and then read on to learn more about how you can get free workers…

How it works

These training programs offer you an incentive to hire qualified – but untrained – workers. The logic goes like this…

Often, when you hire new employees, you spend several months training them. During that time, you’re paying their full salaries – which is why some employers pass on employees who are qualified but lack the necessary training.

Some workforce offices recognize this problem, so they’ll reimburse you, up to a certain percent, for hiring a new worker and providing on-the-job training. The amount of reimbursement varies by program.

For example, the Workforce One office in Florida will reimburse 50 to 90 percent of the employee’s salary for up to three months. A similar program in Connecticut offers a six-month “wage subsidy” and a “manufacturer training grant” for hiring and training new employees.

What you need

Just like the programs themselves, the requirements for hiring new workers vary by state. Typically, you’ll need to have an opening that would require on-the-job training, then hire an unemployed worker who’s a resident of your area. For example, if you hired someone through a local workforce office and trained them for three months, you’d likely qualify for the reimbursement.

Some states place restrictions on who you can hire. For example, you can’t use the program to train your current employees. Some programs also prohibit you from rehiring a former employee and claiming a training reimbursement.

How to sign up

You can look up training programs offered in your state by checking with your local labor or unemployment office website. The Department of Labor has a list of employment offices by state.

You can also sign up for the program by visiting your local workforce services office. As an added bonus, a workforce services office can help you find qualified employees and cut down the time and resources you’d normally spend looking. Use the America’s Service Locator on the United States Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop.org site to find a workforce services office in your state.

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