US Department of Labor awards $2M in funding to support disaster recovery employment, training of dislocated Texas workers after Hurricane Beryl

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial award of $2 million in emergency grant funding to Texas to support employment and training of workers to assist in cleanup and recovery activities in 67 counties stricken by the effects of Hurricane Beryl.

On July 8, 2024, Beryl came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda and the following day, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a major disaster declaration allowing the state to request federal assistance for recovery efforts in the following 67 counties:

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $16,093,393 allows the Texas Workforce Commission to provide people with temporary cleanup and recovery jobs. The grant will also enable the state to provide those in the affected communities with training and services. 

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.