US Department of Labor awards $800K to Mississippi for continued support of temporary employment, assistance after severe storms, tornadoes

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the incremental award of $800,000 to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security to support continued disaster-relief employment for residents of Mississippi as the state continues to recover from the severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes that killed 21 people and ravaged towns in March 2023. 

Previously, the department announced the award of a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $2.1 million – with an initial award of $800,000 – to allow the state to provide people with temporary employment for debris removal, humanitarian assistance and clean-up work. 

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

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration – and supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 – National Dislocated Worker Grants provide funding assistance to temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels when large, unexpected economic events cause significant job losses.