US Department of Labor awards initial $800K grant to support employment, assistance after severe storms, tornadoes in Mississippi in March 2023

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial grant of $800,000 to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security for cleanup and recovery activities after severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in March 2023 killed 21 people and ravaged towns.

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $2.1 million allows Mississippi to provide people with temporary jobs focused on cleanup and recovery efforts. The funding also enables the state to deliver humanitarian assistance to people affected by the storms in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola and Sharkey counties.

Between March 24 and March 25, 2023, a series of tornadoes and severe storms swept across Mississippi, causing deaths and injuries and destroying homes and businesses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a major disaster declaration on March 26, 2023, enabling the state to request this funding.

Dislocated Worker Grants are supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 to expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that lead to significant job losses.