Press Release
Successful Federal Stimulus Program That Has Put 3,620 San Franciscans Back to Work Will End September 30 Without Congressional Extension
07/22/10- Mayor Newsom and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce today co-hosted a breakfast reception to celebrate the achievements of the JOBS NOW! program and to recognize the hundreds of employers, employees and supporters who have made the program a success.
“For all those who seek the dignity of work and pride of a paycheck, a jobless economic recovery is no recovery at all. I see the human face of this lingering recession with families struggling to make ends meet everyday,” said Mayor Newsom. “The JOBS NOW! program is putting San Franciscans back to work now, boosting our local economic recovery efforts, and giving our City’s families the hope for a better future in these challenging times. We have to work together to see it continued.”
- JOBS NOW! is a subsidized employment program funded with federal stimulus dollars. Through San Francisco’s innovative and nationally recognized JOBS NOW! program:
3,620 San Franciscans have been employed. - Over 700 employers, many of whom are local small business owners, have been able to hire despite the recession.
- Approximately $55 million dollars in wages have been pumped into the San Francisco economy.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009, set aside federal funds for programs like JOBS NOW! to put people back to work and to stimulate local economic recovery. The federal funds cover 100% of wages for employees hired through JOBS NOW! The employer is responsible for payroll taxes, benefits, supervision and training. JOBS NOW! is administered by the San Francisco Human Services Agency and was launched in May 2009.
The program targets San Franciscans with dependent children whose income is less than 200% of the federal poverty level ($3,051/month for a family of three). Participants receive the near term benefit of a regular paycheck ($19.41 per hour is the average wage for those employed in the private sector) and the long term benefit of stable work experience that can later help in securing an unsubsidized job.
A survey of JOBS NOW! employers found that 82% were satisfied with participants’ job performance, 72% reported increased sales as a result of JOBS NOW! and 82% reported that their businesses run more efficiently due to the program.
JOBS NOW! is slated to sunset on September 30, 2010 due to the expiration of federal stimulus funds for this purpose. President Obama has proposed an extension of the program in his budget, and the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has also voted to extend the program for one year with an additional appropriation of $2.5 billion. To date however, the Senate has been unable to muster the votes to do the same.
“I want to thank the leadership of President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for supporting a federal stimulus program that’s working exactly as it was intended and putting San Franciscans back to work. But we still need their help to extend this successful program past the September 30, 2010 expiration date and keep people working in San Francisco and other cities and counties across this country where similar programs are putting people back to work,” said Mayor Newsom.