Stimulus-Funded Program to Create Summer Jobs

by Stephanie CrosbyKentucky government leaders are hoping a one-time infusion of cash into the workforce this summer will create permanent jobs. Governor Steve Beshear, Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson and Congressman John Yarmuth all touted the new WorkNow Kentucky program today, which is funded by $46-million in federal stimulus money.Yarmuth says the program will reimburse participating employers 100-percent of new employees’ wages through September 18th of this year. He says all employers are welcome to apply for the program.“It really doesn’t matter, from the perspective of the goals of the stimulus package, how that money gets into the economy, as long as it does," says Yarmuth. "So there’s no reason Humana, or General Electric, or a non-profit, is not as good a funnel of money through the economy as any other entity.”Beshear says only employees who qualify as ‘low-income’ residents can trigger the reimbursement.About six-million dollars of the program will be used in the Louisville area.Statewide, organizers estimate it will create ten-thousand summer jobs.