San Francisco Offers Small Businesses Money To Hire New Workers
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) --- San Francisco is looking for small businesses to participate in JobsNOW2, a scaled down version of the federal Jobs NOW! program that expired last September.
Over 4,100 San Franciscans found work through the federal Jobs NOW! program, but Congress declined to re-up the funding, and the city stepped in.
Now Mayor Ed Lee is trying to get out the word to small businesses that the financial incentive for hiring a new worker under JobsNOW2 has been doubled to $5,000, enough to pay the worker's salary for two to three months.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
"It greatly reduces the risk and cost of hiring new employees, which would be a big plus for any business and a plus for our entire city," Lee said.
Trent Rhorer, the head of the Department of Human Services said JobsNOW2 workers have a proven track record.
"Over 80 percent of the businesses that participated in Jobs NOW1 said the employees increased sales and increased efficiency," Rhorer said. "As a result when the subsidy ended, many of these employees were kept on."
Businesses that participate in JobsNOW2 must hire a single adult on public assistance, which has a pool of about 5,000 people who are looking for work. The city has $9 million dollars, which is enough to create about 300 jobs.
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