The city of Chicago is spending $34 million on job counseling and job training programs for unemployed residents this year, substantially more than in past years thanks to federal economic stimulus money.

Nearly $18 million of what the city will spend is coming from federal stimulus funds, with the rest coming from money the city gets each year for workforce development projects, according to a news release from Mayor Richard M. Daley’s office.

The extra money from the stimulus funds means the city expects to be able to help about 11,000 people with job searches and job training, about 5,000 more people than it did last year.

Some of the money will go to tuition assistance programs and some will be used to train residents for jobs in high-demand fields like healthcare and technology, the news release says.

A large portion of the funds will also go to expanding the five WorkNet Chicago offices the city runs, which will allow those offices to process a greater number of unemployed people seeking work.

City Colleges of Chicago spokeswoman Elsa Tullos says none of the job training funds announced by the city yesterday will go toward programs at the City Colleges. The district provides a range of vocational and workforce development programs, many of which are funded by state and federal grants.