The three governors and six U.S. senators from Connecticut, New York and New Jersey are asking the federal labor secretary for $48.2 million to retrain people who've lost jobs because of the crisis on Wall Street.
State officials estimated the tri-state region will lose about 160,000 financial sector jobs by the end of 2008 and 82,000 more by the end of 2009.
Over the past five months, the overall unemployment rate has increased from 4.5 percent to 5.8 percent for the region, or 146,000 fewer jobs.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the grant would help retrain "back office" workers such as secretaries, computer professionals and administrative staffers. Also, she said people who've lost jobs with firms that service the industry, such as catering, may also get help.
