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Wednesday, July 01, 2009
$13 Million for Jobless Programs
By Michael Hartranft
Journal Staff Writer
More than $13 million in federal stimulus funds is headed to the state of New Mexico to enhance its unemployment benefits services, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis said Tuesday.
Wrapping up a daylong “listening tour” in the city, Solis announced the money's release at the Albuquerque Job Corps Center, flanked by New Mexico Democratic Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall. The funds were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“This is for unemployment insurance, for training, for education and other assistance for those who have been recently displaced,” Solis said.
New Mexico's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5 percent in May, up from 5.8 percent in April and 4.0 percent a year ago, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. The national unemployment rate increased to 9.4 percent.
The funds are given to states that have taken steps to modernize their unemployment insurance benefits programs, said Workforce Solutions secretary Betty Sparrow Doris.
New Mexico qualified for the funds by adopting a modernization bill in 2007 that extended eligibility for benefits to part-time workers, individuals leaving their job due to domestic abuse and out-of-work people who need to return to school to acquire new job skills. It also provided an alternate base period allowing laid-off employees to show pay stubs or other evidence to prove their eligibility for benefits.
The money will be used to improve access to benefits and program administration, including enhancements to department's interactive voice response system, Sparrow Davis said. The program is in line to receive another $26 million in stimulus funds at a future date.
Solis' visit Tuesday included stops at the National Hispanic Cultural Center where she addressed members of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce and small-business leaders, and a meeting with tribal leaders at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
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