State receives $5.5M to help jobless Minnesotans

Minnesota-based programs for dislocated workers will receive a $5.5 million federal grant to provide job training and other services, program officials announced Monday.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, or DEED, plans to use the money to help 1,800 unemployed Minnesotans.

State officials said the money will help jobless Minnesotans get back into the labor market. As of March, the state's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 8.2 percent, slightly below the national rate of 8.5 percent.

"This is important funding that will help unemployed workers to retrain and find new careers," said DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy. "The Dislocated Worker Program is a key part of our strategy for putting Minnesotans back to work and keeping the state economy healthy."

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Emergency Grant program. The initiative provides temporary grants for state and local job programs.

Eleven regional dislocated worker programs will administer the grant. The list includes: Anoka County Job Training Center, Dakota-Scott Workforce Services, Hennepin County Training and Employment Assistance, Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training, Ramsey County Workforce Solutions, Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Programs Inc., Southeastern Minnesota Workforce Development Inc., Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council Inc., Stearns-Benton Employment and Training Council, Washington County Workforce Center and the Winona County Workforce Council.

DEED also recently received a separate $2.6 million National Emergency Grant to fund training for more than 600 workers who lost their jobs when Eagan-based Northwest Airlines merged with Atlanta-based Delta Airlines.