Minn. Launches New Job Creation Program
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) - Businesses looking to expand their operations and hire new employees in Minnesota may not qualify for help from a new job creation fund.
The program was announced Friday by Gov. Mark Dayton and Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
"The $24 million Job Creation Fund is now open for business," Clark Sieben said.
She says the "pay for performance" business development initiative will help create 5,000 jobs, and another $450 million of private investment into the economy.
"In order to be eligible, businesses must create 10 full-time jobs," she said.
Businesses must also invest at least $500,000 in property improvement.
"Minnesota has a 4.6-percent unemployment rate, one of the lowest in the country," Clark Sieben said.
She adds that Minnesota was ranked by Forbes Magazine as eight in the nation for business, and that exports continue to climb.