TN Dept. of Labor's Job Placement Efforts Net More Than $1.25 Million for the Unemployment Trust Fund

5,321 CLAIMANTS RETURN TO WORK AS A RESULT OF RE-EMPLOYMENT SERVICES PROGRAM
 

NASHVILLE – The TDLWD is announcing $1.25 million in savings to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund by requiring intensive job placement assistance for claimants who would likely exhaust all of their available benefits.

From June 1, 2012, through May 31, 2013, the Re-Employment Services Assessment (RESA) program put 5,321 people back into the workforce. Participants going back to work just one week earlier than non-participants saves the Trust Fund an estimated $1.25 million. The formula to calculate this figure is 5,321 multiplied by $235 (average weekly benefit). On average, RESA participants go back to work five weeks earlier than non-participants, suggesting the potential savings to the Trust Fund could be much greater.

Claimants are chosen to participate in the RESA program within the first five weeks of filing their unemployment claim. They are selected after being filtered through a statistical computer model that considers them to be most likely to exhaust their benefits. RESA conducts eligibility reviews of their unemployment claim and helps identify and overcome barriers to employment.  

As a participant in the program, claimants are required to work one-on-one with a Career Center interviewer. They agree to an employability development plan, including work search activities week. The claimant in the RESA program must report to the Career Center once a week for four weeks with documented proof of his work search.

“Putting these unemployment claimants back to work represents a boost to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund,” said Commissioner Burns Phillips. “By having a larger balance in the Trust Fund we could potentially lower employer taxes.”

As a participant in the program, claimants are required to work one-on-one with a Career Center interviewer. They agree to an employability development plan, including work search activities each week. The claimant in the RESA program must report to the Career Center once a week for four weeks with documented proof of his work search.

Recently, the RESA program has created an Employment Toolkit that has valuable resources on everything from unemployment and supportive services to résumé writing and interviewing. The purpose of the Toolkit is to help unemployment claimants have all the resources they need in one place to go through the process of being unemployed to gaining employment and getting back on their feet. To view the toolkit visit http://www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/toolkit/toolkit_intro.shtml.

- # # # -