Following State Action, President Biden Says He Would Let Federal Pandemic Jobless Benefit Expire

According to two recent surveys, U.S. employers are having a hard time finding workers and many employees are in no hurry to get back to work — and there is growing evidence that some state and federal lawmakers are ready to step in to help the situation.

In a new survey, the National Federation of Independent Business said U.S. small-business owners are reporting a record share of unfilled positions, and more firms are boosting wages to attract workers. Specifically, 48 percent of firms had unfilled positions in May. Additionally, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report found:

• As many as 9.3 million unemployed individuals plan to never return to work;
• One in eight individuals have turned down at least one job offer;
• Forty-nine percent of Americans who lost their job during the pandemic report are not active or not very active in searching for new employment;
• Sixteen percent of individuals who are not actively seeking work say the amount of money they are receiving from unemployment benefits and government programs makes it “not worth looking” for jobs; and
• Twenty-eight percent of all respondents agree that “there are a lot of people who are not looking for work because they can do almost or just as well collecting unemployment benefits.”

In order to entice more Americans to get back to works, governors in 25 states have announced that they are ending federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits before they are set to expire at the beginning of September. While President Biden has not said he supports these moves, on June 4 he said it would “make sense” to let the benefits expire after this summer.

Meanwhile, according to Politico, Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to stop governors from reducing federal jobless benefits.