The U.S. Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration have launched a website at https://sea.workforce3one.org to help support Utah and other states in their efforts to encourage unemployed workers to start their own businesses.

In May, the federal government gave $35 million in grants to states to help them implement Self-Employment Assistance programs that were made possible by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.

“Small businesses are the country’s economic engine, and programs like Self-Employment Assistance will encourage more Americans to pursue their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a statement. “This new website will expand access to Self-Employment Assistance so that those who are unemployed today can become successful business owners tomorrow.”

A key component of the new website is an SBA toolkit, which contains several free, online resources available through the SBA to support new entrepreneurs.