Earlier this year President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, or HIRE Act. A new estimate from the Treasury indicates that some 5.6 million eligible workers have been hired in the months from February through June, qualifying the businesses that hired them for billions of dollars in exclusions and credits.

To be eligible, a business must hire an individual who has been out of work at least eight weeks. The cost of hiring is reduced by eliminating the employer-paid portion of Social Security tax through the end of the year. (This exclusion does not reduce the individual’s Social Security benefit.) If the individual remains employed for twelve months, the employer can receive an additional $1,000 credit.