Georgia Department of Labor NEWS RELEASE SUITE 642 (404) 232-3685 148 INTERNATIONAL BOULEVARD, N.E. ATLANTA, GA 30303-1751 FAX (404) 657-9996 Communications@dol.state.ga.us Michael Thurmond Commissioner Sam Hall Director of Communications March 24, 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thurmond announces $1 million for summer jobs for Georgia youth ATLANTA State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond announced today that the Georgia Department of Labor will provide $1 million for summer jobs for youth 14 through 21 in Georgia, including youth with disabilities. The funds that the labor department will provide statewide will create summer jobs for youth in rural and urban Georgia communities with limited employment opportunities. In making the announcement, Commissioner Thurmond said, "The jobs created by this grant will offer many young people their best opportunity to get a job and earn wages this summer, when jobs may be scarce because of our weakening labor market. Their experience in a real-life working environment will also provide them the opportunity to develop good work ethics and better prepare them to eventually enter the job market fulltime." The grant will help create 750 jobs for youth, including those with disabilities who are enrolled in High School/High Tech, a department program designed to help students with disabilities study technology. Each youth will typically work 32 hours per week for six weeks and earn $5.85 per hour. A wide variety of jobs in both the public and private sectors will be available for the young people. The initiative is a partnership between the labor department and the state's 20 Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs). In its sixth year, the program has previously allocated $5.3 million to serve 5,920 youth across the state. Youth interested in applying for one of these summer jobs should contact their local Workforce Investment Boards for more area-specific information. A listing of the boards is available at www.dol.state.ga.us/pdf/wia/wia_administrators.pdf , or you may call the Georgia Department of Labor's Career Development Services at (404) 232-3775. NEWS MEDIA NEEDING MORE INFORMATION MAY CALL (404) 232-3685 CY-08-084