Seven additional counties are now eligible to participate in the temporary employment program that puts North Carolinians to work on recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Florence, N.C. Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced today. To date, 51 counties have been declared eligible for the program.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded an $18.5 million Disaster Dislocated Worker Grant to help the state with Hurricane Florence response in late September. The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions requested the grant.
The latest counties declared eligible for this type of assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are: Alamance, Guilford, Madison, McDowell, Polk, Rowan and Tyrrell.
Counties that were announced earlier include Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Dare, Davidson, Duplin, Granville, Greene, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Montgomery, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Union, Wayne, Wilson and Yancey.
“Hurricane Florence caused damage in many different parts of North Carolina, from the mountains to the coast, and it’s important that we continue to help those communities hire workers to clean up, rebuild and assist their neighbors,” Secretary Copeland said.
Through the federal grant, residents of eligible counties are employed in jobs that support either clean-up and recovery from the storm’s devastation or humanitarian assistance to residents of the affected areas. Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Dislocated Worker Grants fund temporary jobs in response to large, unexpected events that cause significant job losses.
Nonprofits and government agencies can employ participants in this program for up to 12 months. Worksites must generally be on either public property or land owned by not-for-profit agencies.
Workers may be eligible for jobs under the grant if they have been temporarily or permanently laid off as a consequence of the hurricane, or if they meet certain other criteria.
To apply for the Hurricane Florence temporary employment program, residents should visit their local NCWorks Career Center, which can be found by visiting www.ncworks.gov.