LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) is set to receive over $2 billion in the next fiscal year budget. Leaders with LEO are traveling around the state to get feedback from business leaders on how to use the funds.
In the governor’s budget proposal, LEO is slated to receive $1.8 billion in ongoing funding to invest in Michigan’s workforce and $83 million in one-time funding.
LEO’s director, Susan Corbin said the main issue they’ve been hearing from business leaders all around the state is the need to address the barriers that keep people from holding stable jobs.
Corbin explained that the department has three main goals: To have more people with skills certificates or college degrees, more families in the middle class, and more job training support for small businesses. Members of the round table emphasized that none of those goals can be met without the resources to secure childcare, transportation, and housing for Michigan’s most vulnerable workers.
“We look at our labor participation rate, we know we need to bring more people off the sidelines. We want more people participating in our economy.” Corbin said. “They might need assistance with transportation, they might need assistance with childcare, they might need assistance buying the equipment they need for their apprenticeship program. It’s very important for us to have flexible dollars that can be used for those barrier removal services.”
As the department continues to grow the size of Michigan’s workforce, LEO programs focus on veterans, women, and minorities who tend to be underrepresented in jobs that pay middle-class wages.
Corbin said LEO will present the feedback to the legislature as they work on budget bills. The testimony will help lawmakers decide how closely they’ll follow the governor’s proposal as they work to finish the budget before July.
