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NEW YORK - NEW York, New Jersey and Connecticut, three of the states suffering the most from Wall Street's crisis, on Wednesday urged the federal government to approve a US$48 million (S$73.5 million) grant to retrain financial workers.
Each individual would get a US$12,500 'training account' for 24 months to help pay for job searches and relocating, Connecticut Republican Governor Jodi Rell said in a statement.
Ms Rell, New York Governor David Paterson and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, both Democrats, sent a letter to US Labour Secretary Elaine Chao requesting the grant.
The tri-state area is expected to lose 160,000 workers by the end of this year and 82,000 financial sector jobs by the end of next year, Ms Rell said.
Many of the employees are 'not highly-paid securities traders, but administrative and computer support personnel', she said.
'It is unlikely that they will return to financial sector jobs and they will need retraining and other support services to help them transition back into the workforce.'
The jobless rate for the three states has climbed to 5.8 per cent from 4.5 perc ent in the past three months, Ms Rell said.
The three states are trying to identify new and highly paid jobs in industry and education. -- REUTERS
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