The Department of Labor is opening up a competition among the 50 states to come up with programs aimed at getting unemployed Americans back to work. Up to ten states will eventually be selected by the agency to use federal funds or apply for a waiver to use Unemployment Insurance Trust Funds to both implement and evaluate programs aimed at getting people back to work. In a statement, the Labor Department said the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 provides an opportunity to begin new and innovative strategies which better help connect unemployed people with work. Subsidies for employer-provided training could include on the job training or other work-based training programs. The Labor Department points out direct disbursements are not to exceed the weekly benefit amount of an individual to companies which hire people receiving benefits. For example, if someone's benefit for a week is 300 dollars and the wages at the job site are 400, the disbursement could be no more than 100 dollars, the amount of money by which the wages exceed the benefit.
