The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development will receive nearly $1 million in federal funds to improve the state's work force development program, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said the state "now will be able to develop high-quality, long-term data that will provide consumers, practitioners and policymakers with comprehensive information about the relationship between education and work force development programs."

Twelve states, including New Jersey, received a portion of $12 million under the second round of funding. To date, 25 states have been awarded funds under the program.

The grant stems from the federal Employment & Training Administration's focus on access to high-quality data and is a sister initiative to the U.S. Department of Education's Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems grants to build similar education databases, Labor said.