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June 23, 2009
CAPITAL REGION — In today’s economy, there’s no easy way to put more than 800,000 New Yorkers back to work.
But with the aid of incentives and training programs, the state Department of Labor is aiming to help workers and businesses stave off any further losses as the economy mends. Labor officials are hoping the combination will prevent the Capital Region from following the state trend toward increased job losses.
Last month, the unemployment rate in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area jumped to 6.8 percent, which was 0.1 points higher than April but 2.1 points higher than May 2008.
Despite this continuing downward trend, the Capital Region’s unemployment rate is markedly lower than the 8.5 percent unemployment reported statewide. This figure represents the highest percentage of out-of-work New Yorkers in more than 15 years, explained Mario Musolino, deputy commissioner of Labor.
“These are real numbers we’re talking about,” he said Monday during a news conference at Railex in Rotterdam, a company now relying on one of the department’s programs. “Real people, real human beings all around the Capital Region.”
Real people who might not need to end up jobless if companies take advantage of the Labor Department’s offerings. Among the new initiatives is “Building Skills in New York State,” a program that provides up to $50,000 to companies hoping to upgrade the skills of their work force.
The $5 million program is funded through the federal stimulus package and is available to New York companies with four or more employees. By continuing to train employees, Musolino said businesses can avoid having the skills of their work force become “stale” in the ever-evolving global economy.
“Training is a critical component of any business plan, but sometimes it can be costly,” he explained.
Musolino also called on businesses to investigate the Labor Department’s Shared Work Program, which provides an alternative to layoffs or furloughs as the economic slump continues. Under the program, businesses can reduce hours of all or a particular group of employees and have the Labor Department cover partial unemployment payments to those affected workers.
Musolino said the program allows workers to continue to receive full health insurance, retirement, vacation pay and other fringe benefits on the days they are out of work. He said workers at enrolled businesses can also receive partial pay for missing as little as one day of work, something that is not ordinarily offered under the standard partial unemployment claims offered by the Labor Department.
In the Capital Region, the number of companies participating in the program has jumped from 48 in 2008 to 95. The number of workers relying on the program increased from 1,392 last year to 1,744 as of May.
Absent the program, Musolino said these workers would have likely ended up among the state’s burgeoning ranks of the unemployed. With the program, he said these jobs stand a chance of being retained as businesses wait for the economy to turn around.
“It’s a win-win situation,” he said of the program.
Businesses can also capitalize on tax credits for hiring certain workers. Musolino said the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credits provide thousands of dollars of relief to those businesses that hire eligible individuals.
Eligible people include those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, veterans, ex-felons, and food stamp recipients between the ages of 18 and 39, among others.
Paul Esposito, vice president of sales and logistics for Railex, said the program has helped his company weather the poor economy.
“We are not recession-proof at all,” he said. “However, we continue to grow.”
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