The Manitoba government is providing more financial incentives for businesses to hire employees this summer.

It's part of an effort to help small businesses rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Premier Brian Pallister says employers can apply to receive funding for up to five employees after June 18, and there will be no age restrictions this time around.

“We appreciate our many local businesses that temporarily closed their doors, reduced capacity or changed the way they operate in order to help flatten the COVID-19 curve and follow provincial public health orders,” said Pallister. “Those closures and changes come at a cost to businesses, and we want to ease their road to recovery by covering half the wages paid to designated employees over a period of up to 10 weeks this summer.”

Employers can apply to receive funding for up to five employees hired or rehired after June 18. The program will reimburse 50 percent of the total wages paid from June 18 until August 30, to a maximum of $5,000 per worker and $25,000 per business.

The program is an expansion of the Manitoba Summer Student Jobs Recovery Program which limited funding to employees under 30 to generate job opportunities for students and youth. This expanded program will have no age limits, according to Pallister.

To date, the Manitoba Summer Student Recovery Jobs Plan has received more than 1,400 applications from employers for more than 3,200 jobs and over $16 million in supports.