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Last week state workers were laid off to save money, now it’s city and county governments turn to balance their dwindling budgets. The state gave pink slips to 13-hundred of its workers. As Whitney Ray tells us, those layoffs could pale in comparison to layoffs in cities, counties and schools.

Rocked by state worker layoffs, Workforce Plus, the capital area employment agency, is offering cash to businesses that create jobs for the unemployed.

“We are putting together our resources identifying quickly, here are some steps that get you there quickly,” said Kimberly Moore, CEO of Workforce Plus.

Businesses creating jobs can receive up to 12-hundred dollars per job. The offer is only good for businesses in and around Tallahassee, where state budget cuts hit hardest, but it could be expanded statewide as layoffs touch cities, counties and schools.

When the bell rings signifying the start of school this August, there will be a lot of open spots in teacher parking lots across the state. School districts dealing with fewer dollars will be making the tough decision about who to keep and who to let go.

Fewer dollars from the state and falling property values are putting a big dent in education budgets. The story is the same with county governments.

“These are hard decisions and when you look at the fourth year of budget cuts, the first year you cut the fun stuff, you cut some of the parks, maybe you cut back on library hours, the second year you go a little deeper. Now we are in the fourth year,” said Cragin Mosteller, Spokeswoman for the Florida Association of Counties.

Early estimates showed as many as 10-thousand layoffs in schools alone. It now looks like there won’t be as many school layoffs, but no one will know for sure until August. That’s when school and county budgets will be finalized.