Work-training funds for AZ cut amid surge in joblessness

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/229877

By Becky Pallack
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.16.2008

Federal funding for local job training is about to hit its lowest level in eight years, even as usage of the local job bank has doubled.

State and local work-force training leaders are criticizing the federal government's cut in job training funds and its timing.

"It seems severely debilitating to be taking money from the system that helps people get jobs when we're smack in the middle of a recession and people are losing their jobs," said Pat Harrington, assistant director for Employment and Rehabilitation Services at the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

The two One Stop centers in Tucson typically help 60 to 75 new clients each week, but lately, they have been seeing about 150 people a week, said Jim Mize, manager of employer outreach.

That's because more Tucson businesses are downsizing, laying people off in big numbers, he said.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been about 25 companies that have had mass layoffs here, sometimes eliminating more than 100 jobs at once. Just last week, Hart & Cooley Inc., a major local manufacturer, announced it will cut 144 jobs by September.

FULL story at link.