12 States Cutting Off Extra Unemployment Benefits, Including for Gig, Self-Employed Workers
Maggie Gile 9 hrs ago
About time some states are starting to wake up.
Twelve states have announced they will stop paying extra unemployment benefits as early as June or July.
The states, all with Republican governors, are expected to end their participation in two federal benefit programs—one that makes gig workers and the self-employed eligible for assistance and one that provides extra weeks of aid, the Associated Press reported.
The programs cover about 12.5 million people. The Century Foundation estimated that the move by the 12 states will cut off benefits for 895,000 people.
The states cutting off the benefits are: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. Missouri expects to stop issuing payments on June 12, while Tennessee said its will end on July 3.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 473,000, a new pandemic low and the latest evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs as consumers ramp up spending and more businesses reopen.
The decline—the fourth in the past five weeks—coincides with a rash of states led by Republican governors that have blamed expanded jobless benefits for a slowdown in hiring and are acting to cut off the additional aid.
Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that applications declined 34,000 from a revised 507,000 a week earlier. The number of weekly jobless claims—a rough measure of the pace of layoffs—has fallen significantly from a peak of 900,000 in January.
Last week's unemployment claims marked the lowest level since March of last year, when the viral pandemic erupted across the economy. The decline in applications is coinciding with a steadily improving economy. More Americans are venturing out to shop, travel, dine out and congregate at entertainment venues. The reopening has proceeded so fast that many businesses aren't yet able to staff up as quickly as they would like.
TOODLES
Maggie Gile 9 hrs ago
About time some states are starting to wake up.
Twelve states have announced they will stop paying extra unemployment benefits as early as June or July.
The states, all with Republican governors, are expected to end their participation in two federal benefit programs—one that makes gig workers and the self-employed eligible for assistance and one that provides extra weeks of aid, the Associated Press reported.
The programs cover about 12.5 million people. The Century Foundation estimated that the move by the 12 states will cut off benefits for 895,000 people.
The states cutting off the benefits are: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. Missouri expects to stop issuing payments on June 12, while Tennessee said its will end on July 3.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 473,000, a new pandemic low and the latest evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs as consumers ramp up spending and more businesses reopen.
The decline—the fourth in the past five weeks—coincides with a rash of states led by Republican governors that have blamed expanded jobless benefits for a slowdown in hiring and are acting to cut off the additional aid.
Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that applications declined 34,000 from a revised 507,000 a week earlier. The number of weekly jobless claims—a rough measure of the pace of layoffs—has fallen significantly from a peak of 900,000 in January.
Last week's unemployment claims marked the lowest level since March of last year, when the viral pandemic erupted across the economy. The decline in applications is coinciding with a steadily improving economy. More Americans are venturing out to shop, travel, dine out and congregate at entertainment venues. The reopening has proceeded so fast that many businesses aren't yet able to staff up as quickly as they would like.
TOODLES
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