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Kentucky governor offers $1,500 bonus to boost workforce

Jun 26, 2021 | 9:27 AM

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Andy Beshear is offering a one-time, $1,500 bonus to entice thousands of unemployed Kentuckians to accept jobs.

He presented it Thursday as an alternative to ending enhanced jobless benefits that Republicans and businesses blame for a workforce shortage. The governor says the first 15,000 Kentuckians who qualify and return to work by July 30 will receive the payment. He says Kentucky will draw $22.5 million from federal virus-relief funds to pay for the incentive.

Beshear says he’s not foreclosing any possibility in tackling the problem, including an early cutoff of the $300 in extra weekly federal unemployment payments.