A new survey shows that 1.8 million Americans have said no to jobs in order to keep getting unemployment.
Morning Consult polled 463 out-of-work Americans in June. 13% reported they had refused a job while getting unemployed because they “got enough money from unemployment without needing to work.” Others said that child care and worries over covid, and a lack of flexibility restricted their willingness to work.
Because 14.1 million people were getting benefits at the time of the poll, Morning Consult estimated that roughly 1.8 million people turned down jobs because of the handouts.
Under Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan (called the American Rescue Plan), the government funded $300-a-week expanded unemployment funds — a policy that has led to a sluggish labor market. Twenty-six states — all being led by Republicans but one — have opted out of this program.
As personal finance firm WalletHub recently discovered, nine of the ten states with the best labor market recoveries — South Dakota, Vermont, Utah, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Idaho, Kansas, Alabama, Montana, and Oklahoma — have GOP governors. Meanwhile, the bottom ten — New Jersey, Illinois, Louisiana, California, the District of Columbia, Nevada, Connecticut, New Mexico, New York, and Hawaii — are led by Democrats.
Another recent report showed that many Dem-run states are giving benefit packages “equal to $100,000 per year in salary for a four person family with two unemployed parents.” Even without taking into account “food stamps, rental assistance, and some unemployment funds not being subject to taxes,”,., analysts found that “the max benefit package when including the $300 per week benefit” vastly outweighs median income.
The Fed’s semiannual report to lawmakers implicated the unemployment insurance as a top cause of labor market problems — although the bank did not go so far to urge Washington to rescind it.
Some businesses have now resorted to giving retention bonuses, signing bonuses, and other incentives for employees who are wanting to work. Job listing website Indeed reported in June that the amount of postings on their site with such benefits climbed to 4.1% — over double the amount of June 2020.
Author: Blake Ambrose
