Establishes the work opportunity tax credit for businesses with fifty employees or less for hiring a long term unemployed person

• Democratic5

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why James Sanders Jr. says this is needed

As our economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, the long- term unemployment rate has remained unacceptably high. Studies across the board show that those who have been unemployed for a longer period of time have a much harder chance of landing that next job. Current statistics from the U.S Bureau of Labor reflect that the number of long- term unemployed persons remains at levels more than twice as high as those prior to the Great Recession. The problem is far-reaching with national unemployment rates revealing that despite recent job growth, the long-term unemployed continue to make up approximately 30W of the unemployed in all age and education ranges. At the same time, studies have shown that one of the keys to economic growth lies within small businesses. The growth of small businesses is critical to ensuring continued innovation and opportunity, all the while diversifying our economy. Small businesses are the engine behind job expansion and a strong economy. This legislation aims to address two issues: long-term unemployment, and small business growth. By providing a tax credit to small businesses for each long-term unemployed individual they hire and retain as a new employee, this bill will ultimately spur job creation, provide an added incentive to hire an individual who has had more difficulty finding work than others, and provide much-needed tax relief to small, businesses.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.