Florida to cut unemployment benefits 1:06
(CNN) -
Once considered a crucial safety net in the economic storm fueled by the pandemic, improved unemployment benefits are now pitting the unemployed who say they are still struggling to find work against companies who argue they are now struggling to find employees. .
There are many anecdotal examples to back up each side.
But what is happening in the labor market, and the effect of the controversial $ 300 weekly federal push extended by Congress on the most recent March stimulus package, remains unclear.
About half of economists say they are unsure whether the supplement is a major disincentive for lower-paid workers, according to a survey released last week by the Global Markets Initiative at the University of Booth School of Business. Chicago
28% believe it is, while 16% feel it is not.
“I suppose the $ 300 is having a daunting effect on people who work, but it's not a huge effect. But I'm very uncertain because I don't think we have good data, "said Joseph Vavra, a professor economist at the University of Chicago, who investigated the impact of the $ 600 weekly improvement that Congress approved at the beginning of the pandemic last year. , when millions were suddenly laid off amid widespread business shutdowns.
Most Republican governors did not wait for it to be known.
At least 25 have announced that they are ending one or more of the pandemic unemployment programs early, citing labor shortages in their states.
Approximately 4.5 million people will be affected and beneficiaries will begin to lose their benefits as of June 12.
The Biden administration will no longer be able to continue providing the $ 300 weekly unemployment benefits that Republican governors are cutting.
The $ 300 benefit, as well as two other pandemic programs that provide benefits to independent contractors and others who do not normally qualify and for those who have been left without their regular state benefits, is scheduled to last until early September in states that they continue with the programs.
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What is known is that the additional federal payment means that some people are earning more from unemployment than from their jobs.
Estimates range from approximately 25% to approximately 40% of laid-off workers who are in this situation.
What the unemployed say
Americans out of work point to a multitude of factors that prevent them from returning to the job market.
But until they get a job, they say they need the $ 300 weekly mattress to stay financially afloat.
Although there were a record 8.1 million job openings, as of March, some workers say that many of these positions pay too little or too far for them to be able to afford to accept or that the positions require skills or certifications that they do not have. .
Others have applied for dozens of listings but are not being called for interviews or receiving offers.
The economy still has 8.2 million fewer jobs compared to February 2020.
And others continue to struggle to get full-time child care because their providers may have closed or limited enrollment or because their children still attend school remotely.
Nearly 7.3 million adults say they are not working because they are caring for children who are not in school or daycare, according to data from the most recent Census survey from mid to late May.
That figure has increased since the second half of April, when it was 6.8 million.
In addition, the pandemic continues to weigh on some Americans, despite the increase in vaccines and the decline in cases.
About 3.8 million people said they are not working because they are concerned about contracting or spreading the virus, down from 4.2 million in April, according to the Census Bureau.
Florida will cut unemployment benefits in June and we tell you why
What companies say
Employers, eager to increase staff as the economy reopens, say they can't find enough workers, in part because the generous supplement keeps people on the sidelines.
"It's not the reason, but it is absolutely a reason," said Neil Bradley, policy director for the US Chamber of Commerce, which has called on states to end the pandemic program.
There is already some initial evidence that the supplement's looming end is having some intended effect, Bradley told CNN.
He pointed to an Indeed report showing job search activity on the site spiked the day a state announced it would end benefits from the pandemic early.
However, the peak disappeared on the eighth day.
The $ 300 weekly supplement likely had "small but noticeable effects" on job search and worker availability in the first four months of this year, according to a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
About 1 in 7 workers won't accept job offers due to unemployment benefits, according to study co-author Rob Valletta, associate director of research at the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
The finding is an extrapolation of previous research into last year's $ 600 hike.
But ending the current supplement probably won't help employers much, Valletta told CNN.
"Removing it will not increase job growth much," he said of the $ 300 improvement.
America's worker shortage is real and getting worse every day, according to the CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Companies are taking steps to attract more workers.
Companies like Under Armor, Amazon, and Walmart have raised their minimum wage to attract workers, and smaller companies are offering incentives as well.
An Arizona restaurant owner has offered to pay college tuition for full-time employees returning to work.
The House on Wednesday asked states to use federal funds to help parents pay for child care.
Arizona announced such a plan last month in conjunction with ending the $ 300 federal push. The state will provide three months of child care assistance for those making up to about $ 52,000 a year and returning to work. after receiving unemployment benefits.
Unemployment
