Some States Offering Return To Work Bonuses
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released an April jobs report that highlighted a growing shortage of available workers, and an unexpected increase in the employment rate, amid other findings.
One federal policy that is keeping some employees from returning to work is the federal $300 weekly pandemic supplemental for unemployment benefits. In order to entice more people to return to the workforce, some states have opted out of this program.
Others, including Montana and Idaho, have created programs that provide bonuses for returning to work. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) has assembled a summary of those programs that other local and state officials can use as a template. Click here to review that summary.
As employers struggle with finding workers to return to work and fill open jobs across the country, the USCC advises two strategies employers can use to advocate for similar programs. They are:
- Asking governors to cancel his or her state’s participation in the $300 weekly supplemental benefit; and/or
- Asking state officials to create a return to work bonus program, like the ones highlighted above, that use federal resources to bring people back to work.