“What was supposed to be short-term financial aid for people (…) made redundant at the height of the pandemic has become a dangerous right“, lamented the Republican governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster.
Faced with the millions of jobs destroyed by the pandemic, unemployment rights have been extended, to the self-employed in particular, and extended until September 6, even for those who had reached the maximum duration.
The amounts vary from state to state, between $ 230 and $ 820 per week. They were raised by $ 300, also weekly.
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But while the recovery is underway, many companies are struggling to recruit, and these additional helpers are cringe.
This “pays and encourages workers to stay at home rather than encouraging them to return to the workplace“, proclaims the elected Republican of South Carolina, support of Donald Trump, in his letter of May 6 ordering to end all this aid in his state.
President Joe Biden recently assured that the aid would be maintained in the states wishing it, but nonetheless made a point of reminding that it would be withdrawn from the unemployed who refused a job.
– “Devastating” –
Missouri, Alaska, West Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, …: 21 of the 27 Republican state governors will reduce or eliminate additional aid, according to a note from analysts at Oxford Economics published Wednesday.
Consequently, some 2.5 million unemployed out of the 16 million beneficiaries will no longer receive anything from June or July depending on the location, these economists calculated. One million more unemployed people will lose the $ 300 a week per week.
“It’s going to be devastating“, warns Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, an organization that supports low-income communities, at the legislative level among other things.
“It’s going to have a huge effect if families don’t have the stability of an income“, she adds, referring to all those who will no longer be able to pay their rent or the bills:”it is really harmful for children“.
And the consequences will be particularly harsh for African-American or Hispanic families, she emphasizes.
The jobs that do not find a taker are in particular the least qualified, and therefore the least well paid.
If the political leaders “worry so much that someone on unemployment can earn twice as much as the minimum wage, why does our state still refuse to have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage?“, notes Sue Berkowitz.
The minimum wage in South Carolina is that set by the US government at $ 7.25 an hour. However, some states impose a higher level.
– Montana –
These more generous unemployment benefits “may be one of the factors limiting labor supply“, stress analysts at Oxford Economics.
More “health concerns remain the main constraint“Since nearly two-thirds of the American population are unvaccinated, they say. They also highlight child care issues, as long as all schools have not reopened full time.
“The jobs that are available don’t really match“the skills of job seekers, also notes Sue Berkowitz.
The spark that angered these Republican governors was the release of April unemployment figures. A disappointment, with only 266,000 jobs created over the month, far from the expected million.
It was Montana, a northwestern state best known for its verdant forests, mountains and rivers, that got the ball rolling. Its governor Greg Gianforte lamented that “almost all sectors of the economy face a labor shortage“.
To motivate residents, he removed additional aid, and offers a bonus of $ 1,200 to unemployed people who accept a job.
