“There’s just a lot of people applying for not a lot of jobs,” says Neil Cairns of Portland, Oregon.

Instead of calculating PUA benefits based on people’s income, many states have just been paying the minimum benefit.

In just 38 days, 12 million jobless workers will lose their benefits. Talks on another relief bill have stalled in Congress.

Kai Ryssdal talks with Gbenga Ajilore of the Center for American Progress, who argues that pandemic economic relief should be more inclusive.

The unemployment rate is down, and more people are returning to the labor force. But finding a job isn’t easy.

More Americans are returning to the labor market. But more are also joing the ranks of the long-term unemployed.

The decline in unemployment has slowed since an early rebound from the first wave of COVID-19 shutdowns.

Eight months after the virus struck, the U.S. economy still has recovered barely half the that were lost to the pandemic.

No state lets people stay on unemployment benefits for more than 26 weeks.

But worrying also comes with a few benefits.