Department of Labor awards nearly $3.8M in funding to Florida to continue support for temporary jobs, workforce training after Hurricane Ian

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the incremental award of $3,750,000 in funding to support continued disaster-relief employment and workforce training for eligible residents in Florida as the state continues to recover following Hurricane Ian.

On Oct. 17, 2022, the department announced the award of a National Dislocated Worker Grant – with an initial award of $15 million – and followed with the announcement of an incremental award of $7.5 million on Oct. 2, 2023, to the Florida Department of Commerce to provide people with temporary jobs for debris removal, humanitarian assistance and clean-up work. Funding also supports career and training services for area workers. 

In September 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane along Florida’s southwest coast, bringing high winds, storm surges and massive flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a major disaster declaration on Sept. 29, 2022, enabling the state to request federal assistance for recovery efforts. 

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.