The U.S. non-farm payrolls data for April was dismal, and labor shortage instead of stagnant production became a major constraint. This makes Americans begin to reflect: Is it too much unemployment benefit?
According to Bloomberg, on one side, many employers have recently responded to the difficulty in recruiting workers and companies are understaffed; on the other side, the unemployed are showing more hesitation and pickiness in the job market, and the unemployment rate remains high, which highlights the structural contradictions that already exist in the employment field.
Interestingly, the Chinese export data released on the same day again exceeded expectations, and analysts teased that after the epidemic the American people found that they could just print money to find China to buy things, so why work themselves?
Overly generous government benefits are reducing the willingness of workers to return to work. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said giving money to people who don’t work “is weakening what should be a stronger job market” and stifling the economic recovery.
Several states, including Florida, Montana and North Carolina, have tightened unemployment benefits and are no longer providing assistance to Americans who refuse to work. Florida requires that unemployment recipients regularly provide documentation that they are making an effort to find work, and North Carolina released a document in April explaining to employers how to report people who refuse to work.
Similar initiatives have made many Americans ineligible for unemployment benefits. In the first quarter of this year, nearly 407,000 people were denied state benefits because they failed to find work or lacked supporting documentation; about 6,000 people were denied benefits for refusing jobs their states deemed suitable for them, Labor Department data show.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte
In addition, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he would offer a $1,200 “back-to-work bonus” to those who return to work.
However, many analysts do not agree that unemployment benefits are a barrier to employment. Zach Schiller, director of policy affairs research for the state of Ohio, said the idea that there are many people who are looking forward to unemployment benefits and not going to work is absurd. The latest weekly first-time claimants fell below 500,000 for the first time since the initial blockade in 2020; federal data from the U.S. in the fourth quarter of last year showed that 57 percent of the unemployed who were already receiving benefits returned to work or stopped claiming unemployment benefits before their eligibility expired.
Zach Schiller, director of policy affairs research for the state of Ohio
Biden and Yellen reiterated the importance of government financial support. Biden said the jobs report “underscores how important the actions we’re taking are,” but that “the climb is very steep and there’s a long way to go.
Yellen downplayed the labor shortage, noting that supply chain factors such as chip shortages are constraining manufacturing production and hindering the job market recovery. She said, “I don’t think increasing unemployment benefits is really the factor that’s having an impact.”
Recent Comments