The state has approved tax credits for employers who hired just under 1,500 previously unemployed Marylanders in 2010, a surge in numbers from a few months ago but still far short of the total number of credits available.
The H.I.R.E. Maryland effort, a $5,000 refundable tax credit in exchange for each person given a job after a stint on the unemployment rolls, had the budget to support 4,000 hires made between mid-March and Dec. 31. The state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation says it's not yet clear what the total number of claims will be because there's no deadline to apply.
Coastal Sunbelt Produce in Savage has the most approved credits, 36, closely followed by Middle River Aircraft Systems with 34. About 70 percent of the 744 employers whose applications were approved got a single credit.
A spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley said there has been no discussion about how to use unclaimed funds — $12.5 million at the moment — because employers can still apply for the credits.
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