US Labor Department awards funds to Florida, the Carolinas to support disaster relief employment to aid Hurricane Matthew recovery

WASHINGTON – As Hurricane Matthew traveled along the southeastern U.S. coast from Oct. 7-9,2016, it killed more than 30 people, damaged hundreds of roads and bridges, destroyed farmlands and left many public areas unsafe. Thousands of people found themselves homeless, in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced three grants totaling up to $22 million in National Dislocated Worker Grant funding to North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, with more than $7 million released initially. These funds will serve to create disaster relief employment to help with clean-up and recovery efforts in the wake of the storm.

Approximately 1,300 workers will be employed between the three grants to assist with clean-up and repair of destroyed public structures, facilities and lands in the affected communities, as well as for the delivery of humanitarian aid, as needed.

The department has approved the award of the following grants to:

• The North Carolina Department of Commerce for up to $14,862,065, with $4,954,022 released initially, to create employment for about 944 people in 41 counties in the eastern half of the state.
• The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, for up to $7,035,611, with $2,345,203 released initially, to create disaster relief employment for about 350 people in nine counties along the east coast of Florida.
• The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, for $500,000 to create disaster relief employment for about 25 people in 23 eastern South Carolina counties.

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, National Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker training and employment programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events which cause significant job losses. The grants generally provide resources to states and local workforce development boards to support economic recovery and reemployment following major layoff events or natural or other disasters.