DOL To Distribute $646 Million in Employment Service Grants to States

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the disbursement of $646 million in Employment Service Grants to improve the functioning of the nation’s labor markets by providing labor exchange services to all job seekers and helping businesses to meet their hiring needs by referring qualified workers.

The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), established the Employment Service, a nationwide system of public employment offices. The Employment Service serves job seekers in nearly 2,400 American Job Centers nationwide, providing services to all interested job seekers and businesses, and delivers reemployment services to unemployed individuals to help them return to work.

In January 2020, the Department made additional regulatory changes to the 2016 WIOA Final Rules to modernize the regulations implementing the Wagner-Peyser Act to align the regulations with the flexibility under WIOA, which allow states to tailor their staffing approach better when providing services in the Employment Service program.