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Mississippi offers temp work for tornado recovery

Posted on May 25th, 2011 Read time: 1 minutes

Unemployed residents of Mississippi may be able to find work and fufill some philanthropic dues at the same time.

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded the Mississippi Department of Employment Security a $7 million grant to hire temporary workers to assist in the recovery effort following the series of tornadoes that affected the South last month, according to WJTV-TV.

The agency will hire 500 temporary workers who can earn anywhere from $7.25 to $25 an hour, depending on the job requirements and prevailing wages in each area. Stipulations of the jobs are that there is a six-month cap on employment, and the maximum amount of money a temp worker can earn is $12,000.

Available jobs include debris cleaners, humanitarian aids, drivers, office workers, social-service aides and construction workers.

Unemployment benefits cannot be collected by hired workers during the duration of employment. Eligible workers include those who are out of work due to the tornadoes, have been laid off from their jobs, or have been unemployed for at least 15 weeks during the past six months.

USA Today reports that the tornado outbreak was the deadliest the U.S. has seen since 1925.  

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