CL – Federal funds dry up; 40 to lose jobs

Federal funds dry up; 40 to lose jobs

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security will lay off 40 employees by the end of July, in what leaders are calling a “very necessary step” as the agency faces a funding shortfall.

MDES is losing money from the Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser funding – two federal programs that provided additional funding to the state as part of the federal stimulus.

“With these programs ending and being reduced, we expect to lose more than $6 million in federal funding,” MDES executive director Les Range said.

Clarion Ledger
6/23/11