“Georgia Works” for the Unemployed

A recent Stateline.org article discussed Georgia’s “brilliant little program” to combat unemployment and provide job training for its jobless citizens. Begun in 2003, Georgia Works allows people receiving unemployment benefits to work up to 24 hours per week for 8 weeks at certified businesses, gaining on-the-job training and potentially employment; unemployment benefits serve as pay, while the state provides workers with a small stipend to cover transportation or child care, for example. Though not without critics, the program has been acclaimed as a creative, low-cost strategy for expanding employment opportunities and job training during tough economic times.

Policies to expand economic opportunity and improve job training.