Governor Paterson announced today that the Department of Labor’s Shared Work program saved more than 10,500 jobs statewide in the first eight months of this year, attracting more than 1,800 companies to participate – more than three times the number of companies that took part in Shared Work in all of 2008. Shared Work gives employers an alternative to layoffs. Rather than lay off a percentage of workers to cut costs, an employer can reduce hours of all or a particular group of employees. Those employees can use the program to collect unemployment insurance benefits to make up for the lost wages. The Shared Work program allows employees to retain their health insurance, retirement, vacation pay or other fringe benefits. The benefit for a participating company is they keep the skilled and trained worker during the economic downturn. When business picks up, the employer does not have to find new workers and train them. For information on eligibility & how to apply please visit the New York State Department Of Labor website.