WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is looking for states that will experiment with unemployment insurance programs by letting people test a job while still receiving benefits.
The plan is a key feature of a payroll tax cut package that President Barack Obama negotiated with congressional Republicans in February.
The Labor Department
will open the application process Thursday for 10 model projects across
the country. Any state can apply for the "Bridge to Work" program.
The plan is modeled after a Georgia program called "Georgia Works." Under the plan, workers who have lost jobs can be placed in other temporary jobs
as trainees for short periods to retain their skills or gain new ones
while receiving jobless assistance. About a third of the time, those
workers wind up getting hired full-time.
A
number of states are combining unemployment benefits with on-the-job
training, including North Carolina, New Hampshire, Utah and Missouri.
A senior administration official
said those states would be eligible to apply for the federal
demonstration project. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to
describe the program before an administration announcement.
States
that are chosen could get waivers from the federal government allowing
them to tap their unemployment insurance accounts to pay for such costs
as transportation for workers in temporary jobs.
The
program has had mixed results in some states that have their own
programs. Administration officials said they hope the waivers and
assistance offered by the federal demonstration projects could help
rectify any problems that have emerged.
Supporters
of the programs say it helps workers retain or learn new skills and add
new job references to their resumes. The plan passed with support from
leading Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
It
also is designed to answer critics of unemployment benefits who say the
aid discourages some people from aggressively seeking work.
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