The following is a transcript of a radio address presented by Governor Janet Mills: 

By keeping our rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths down and keeping our rate of vaccinations up, we have maintained our reputation nationally as the safest state in the country and we’ve set ourselves up for a successful summer tourism season.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

We have worked very hard over the last fifteen months to get the COVID-19 virus under control so that it is safe for everyone to return to work. Now, vaccines are widely available at more than 250 locations across the state.

And so are jobs. Employers across the state are looking to staff up for the busy summer months in particular, which means there are opportunities for everyone to work, earn a living and contribute to our state’s economic recovery.

And the Maine Department of Labor is ready to help you.

You can find thousands of available jobs, including remote work, on the Maine Job Link at Joblink.Maine.Gov.

You can obtain counseling from a Career Center to develop your plan for getting back to work or getting the training you need for a new career. And you can obtain child care with the help of new federal funds.

Career Centers also offer virtual job fairs to connect you with employers who are looking to hire someone like you. Less than a week away on June 10th from 2-4 p.m., Maine CareerCenters are hosting a virtual job fair featuring the Maine Registered Apprenticeship Program and many employers, for example.

More information about all of these resources can be found at Maine.Gov/Labor.

More importantly, if you’re on unemployment, you can also go back to work with substantial part time hours and still keep the $300 a week federal stipend throughout this summer.

The Department of Labor has a calculator online available on their Unemployment Insurance website where you calculate how many hours a week a person can work and still collect partial benefits and the $300 stipend. It’s a win win. I encourage you to check it out.

And keep in mind that work search requirements are tightened, meaning if you are getting unemployment benefits, you are required to actively look for work and to accept positions for which you are qualified.

If you are unemployed and you are offered a job you are qualified for and you turn it down to stay on unemployment benefits, you risk losing those very benefits.

Please do your part. Let’s get Maine back to work, we’re ready.

To succeed this summer, we need everyone working towards the same goal: getting our state and our lives back to normal.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.