SACRAMENTO – Thanks to swift action by the Governor’s Recovery Act Task Force and the state legislature, $415 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) stimulus funds are now available to assist unemployed Californians in job-training and in helping to find new jobs.

Following Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee moved to quickly allocate Recovery Act funds making them immediately available to unemployed Californians.

“With unemployment affecting historic numbers of Californians in this difficult economy, I am committed to doing everything within my power to provide relief to our unemployed and get Californians back to work,” said Schwarzenegger. “The legislature is a great partner in this and acted quickly to get this money out to the people, providing immediate assistance with job training and job placement. My administration will continue to work around the clock to push Recovery Act funding into our economy as quickly as possible to help create jobs and put California on the road to economic recovery.”

To assist workers displaced from their jobs, the Recovery Act funds will be distributed by the Employment Development Department to 49 local Workforce Investment Boards to help bolster services at the local Workforce Services Offices and One Stop Career Centers, serve workers displaced from their jobs and work to address workforce development priorities.

The $415 million nearly doubles the amount of Workforce Investment Act funds the federal government has allocated to California in the current fiscal year.

For more information on this allocation please visit www.labor.ca.gov and www.recovery.ca.gov.