“The United States has not had reliable data during the VirusCasedemic to answer a very Big Q: How many Americans are out of work?” — Paul Ebeling
As the US economy revs up to meet the demand of tens of millions of newly vaccinated Americans, employers say they cannot fill their need for qualified labor.
The US economy is down more than 8,000,000 jobs since before the VirusCasedemic, and Fed officials say the real unemployment rate is closer to 10% than the 6.1% a government report showed last Friday.
Many would-be workers claim that they are concerned about health risks due to the VirusCasedemic.
America’s employers complain that enhanced unemployment benefits and other government aid are keeping workers on the sidelines, content to collect a check rather than work for a living.
Data released by the Labor Department last Thursday showed more than 16-M people are still receiving some form of unemployment benefit more than a yr into the medical emergency chaos.
Now comes Mr. Biden saying, “The jobless offered jobs must take them or lose benefits.” A statement replete with Democrat caveats.
Mr. Biden says his administration will remind US states this wk that any unemployed American offered a ‘comparable’ job must take it or risk losing unemployment benefits.
Also, he is directing the US Labor Department to work with states to reinstate requirements that ‘those receiving unemployment benefits must demonstrate they are actively looking for work‘.
“If you are receiving unemployment benefits and you are offered a ‘suitable’ job, you can’t refuse that job and just keep getting unemployment benefits,” Mr. Biden says.
Contributing LTN economist/businessman Bruce WD Barren weighs in: “By the last business day of December 2020, there were about 6.65 million job openings in the United States. This is a slight increase from the previous month, when there were 6.57 million job openings (JOLTS). Yet, according to Government statistics, in April 2021, the national unemployment rate was at 6.1 percent.
Tuesday the JOLTS came in at 8.123-M in March from a revised 7.526-M in February.
“Why? Because people have no motivation to go back to work because of the huge endowment of unemployment benefits. Look at the State of Washington with $20 per hour per
“The real question is what is the reason? There are no incentives, which are critical, to go back to work.
“Perhaps, the Government should focus its energies here!
A Studied Approach: “Okay, let’s look at the facts. According to Statista which is owned by Ströer Media (Germany) – one of the leading media data companies in the World , in March 2021, $5.36 billion (annualized: $64.32 billion representing 9.8 million people or a rate of 6.1% in unemployment) was paid out in unemployment benefits in the United States. This is an increase from March 2020, when 3.89 billion U.S. dollars were paid in unemployment benefits.
“Now if the US Government took just half of that money and added it to one’s employed income in each of the next 2 years, perhaps this would provide an incentive for people to go back to work. The result would be that in actuality they would earn more money working, given such an extra bonus, than not working. Further, the actual costs to the US Government would be less because of payroll taxes that they would earn and the employees contribution to such expenses as medical. Conversely, it would benefit a Company by not having to raise its product prices to afford added payroll costs and at the same time, not be an additive to inflation since it would be subsidized by the US Government.
“This type of incentives is the kind of thinking Congress should be analyzing instead of just giving away money! says contributing LTN’s economist Bruce WD Barren.
Republican lawmakers blamed a bad NFPs report last wk on the Democrat Biden’s decision to offer expanded unemployment benefits till September 2021.
Have a healthy day, Keep the Faith!
