SC Works employment and job centers in the Pee Dee are always busy and crowded with people looking for work. Many of the them have been out of work for a long time.
Jay Fraley, 51, of Florence says he's been looking for a job for more than a year after being let go from his job as a sales engineer.
Fraley says employers seem to have doubts about him because he's been out of work for so long.
"They're trying to figure out why you're not working, what's your problem, do you have a situation we don't know about? It's the stigma of you haven't worked for a long time," said Fraley.
Officials with the Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments say Fraley has a point and there are instances where some employers are reluctant to hire the long-term unemployed.
"When it comes to the long-term unemployed and individuals to be quite honest and to be quite frank about it, lots of businesses shy away from them. Most of the time when an employers is looking at an applicant they tend to look at those who haven't been unemployed as long, " said Joette Dukes, Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments.
The Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments was awarded a $300,000 grant through SC Employment and Workforce from the US Department of Labor as incentive for employers to hire people who have been out of work for 17 weeks or longer.
The grant would reimburse an employer for a portion of the workers salary during the training period, for up to six months.
"This is a tremendous savings on the initial hiring of individuals. We felt like this would be something that would give the employers an added incentive," said Kim Gardener, Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments.
Employers can hire up to four people through the reimbursement grant program and it has no bearing on the size of the company.
Officials say companies with fewer than 50 people will be reimbursed up to 90% of the employee's wages.
A business that employs 51 to 250 could be reimbursed up to 75% percent of their employee's wages and a company with more than 250 people could get reimbursed up to 50%.
Robby Hill is the President and CEO of HillSouth, a computer consulting business in Florence that employs about 20 people.
Hill says he's hired a few of his employees through the reimbursement program.
"Being able to partner with them and hire good people that are qualified for our jobs and put them into training programs while they're working for us so it benefits both the employers and the potential employees," explained Hill.
Officials with Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments say so far five companies have hired 12 people through the program.
The council has made contacts with other employers, but says there is still money available.
They're encouraging other employers to take advantage of the grant money before it's too late. Any leftover funds will have to be returned to the US Department of Labor by June 30th, so they say time is of the essence.
If you have any openings within your business or industry, you're asked to call the Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments at (843) 519-1237.
