By Eileen Buckley
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Buffalo, NY – The State Labor says the new federal Hire Act could return thousands of unemployed Western New Yorkers to work. The Hire Act was approved by Congress in February.
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The HIRE Act offers tax breaks to companies willing to hire someone who has been on long-term unemployment. Cesar Cabrera is a regional representative with the State Labor Department in Buffalo. He says it is a great tool to return the unemployed to the workforce and gives businesses a chance to hire more employees.
There are no wage requirements for businesses to receive the tax credit. It would provide a s6.2% percent payroll tax cut on wages paid between now and December 31st. That's when it expires.
The current unemployment rate in Erie County is at 9.2%. Junius Baines of Buffalo has been out of work for a month. He was in a dress shirt and tie, sitting at a computer inside the Labor Department's downtown resource center conducting a job search. Baines was thrilled to learn about the HIRE Act.
Baines believes the government needs to do more brainstorming to help create new jobs. He says it is difficult holding out hope.
Baines is searching for a job in health care as a certified nursing assistant. But for now he has a job interview as a mail sorter.