The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $343,901 in unemployment benefits and worker retraining funds to Rhode Island to help people who’ve lost their jobs because of foreign competition, U.S. Senator Jack Reed announced.
The money will go to the state Department of Labor and Training, which can use them for job training, job-search help, relocation aid and cash payments to workers whose job losses have been officially attributed, by the U.S. Department of Labor, to foreign competition.
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For fiscal year 2005, Rhode Island got a base allocation of $793,597 under the program, called Trade Adjustment Assistance. In February, the state got another $539,465 in reserve funds. With this new award, the total for the year is $1,676,963, Reed said.
The latest job statistics show Rhode Island businesses added 1,000 jobs in July, marking the tenth month in a row of employment growth, but the unemployment rate also increased, to 5.1 percent, up from 4.8 percent in June. A total of 29,200 state residents were jobless last month.
Sectors where foreign competition is not a factor, such as hospitality, education, health care and professional services, have been adding jobs in Rhode Island. Manufacturers, however, have shed about 3,100 jobs in the last 12 months, state officials have said.
“It is important we help Rhode Island and American manufacturers who lose their jobs to foreign competition,” Reed said in a news release. “This federal assistance can enable these workers to stay on their feet while they receive the training they need to find new jobs.”
