National Hiring Program Provides Incentive for Hiring Unemployed Workers

The job market just got a little bigger for employers. While the recession trend for hiring has ignored unemployed workers, a new bill President Barack Obama signed into law last month encourages employers to give those workers a look.

The bill, titled the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, contains more than $17 billion in tax credits aimed at stimulating the hiring.


Under the HIRE Act, an employer would not have to match the 6.2 percent Social Security portion of a qualified employee's wages in 2010. To qualify:

    * an employee must be hired between Feb. 3, 2010 and Jan. 1, 2011
    * the employee cannot be hired to replace an exisiting employee
    * the employee cannot be related to the employer
    * the employee must not have been employed, working more than 40 hours, in the two months leading up to the hiring.

Employers can also receive a tax credit on their 2011 return for each new employee retained for 52 weeks.

The idea is to ensure job creation, rather than job filling. So think about that in the coming months.

Here are some links to Web pages with more information on the program.
SHRM: Job Law Provides Tax Breaks
Chicago Tribune: Tax Credits Encourage Hiring
The Bill's Text