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States that ended federal unemployment benefits earlier this summer saw job growth in August at less than half the rate of states that retained benefits, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Why is this important: Leaders of largely Republican-ruled states had insisted the benefits discouraged people from working and ended the aid program before its scheduled expiry on September 6.
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The benefits, which came in the form of weekly payments of $ 300, had been in place since the spring of last year to help families weather the pandemic.
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A growing group of states began ending benefits in June in what they called an effort to get people back into the workforce.
What they say : “Economists analyzing the unemployment problem have yet to see little evidence that the removal of benefits has clearly boosted local labor markets, in part because of difficulties in separating the influence of payments from larger changes in employment. labor, or potentially compensation for damage caused by the pandemic, ”writes Reuters.
To note: When jobs are hard to fill, a broader worker awakening over the past year is a part of it, writes Hope King of Axios.
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