TRENTON - Governor Jon S. Corzine welcomed the announcement of a joint $22 million National Emergency Grant (NEG) from the U.S. Department of Labor to New Jersey , New York and Connecticut for reemployment assistance to financial services workers. New Jersey will receive $2.78 million of the nearly $11 million released initially to the three states and approximately $7 million of the total $22 million. The funding will assist all of the workers who recently lost their jobs with financial services employers.

“This grant recognizes the deep impact that this recession has made in our regional economy where the financial sector has been so hard hit,” Governor Corzine said. “While first thoughts of this sector may conjure images of executives and highly paid securities traders, most of the workers affected by the melt-down in financial employers are actually secretaries and workers in administrative support and computer support jobs. This grant will help those workers.

“Overall, this funding will help to expand our ongoing efforts to assist New Jerseyans through these harsh economic times, prepare them for new jobs and position our state to recover quickly from the national recession.”

The NEG will fund reemployment services to enable displaced workers at all levels of the financial sector to receive retraining, skills assessments, career counseling and other assistance to help them find new opportunities to employ their talents and skills in the workforce.

Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow said, “This funding, over and above the state’s formula job training and worker assistance federal funds, is targeted to the workers displaced from all skill levels by employers in the financial services sector and those in affected industries downstream,. It will make an enormous difference in our efforts to help these workers get back on their feet,” Socolow said. “In this difficult economy dislocated workers should look for job opportunities beyond the field in which they were most recently employed and we will help them to explore demand occupations where their skills can be transferred into new employment.”

Socolow said the department will begin applying the grant money immediately toward assisting downsized workers from financial services employers.

In November, New Jersey , New York and Connecticut applied jointly for a NEG to assist workers displaced by the melt down in financial services.  Initial estimates showed that approximately 82,000 jobs in the financial services sector could be lost in the tri-state area by the end of 2009. The $22 million NEG can be increased if the states apply for additional funding based on a demonstrated need for continued assistance. New York will receive $5.5 million and Connecticut will receive $2.6 million of the initial $11 million from the U.S. Department of Labor.

###

Photos from Governor Corzine's public events are available in the Governor's Newsroom section on the State of New Jersey web page, http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/