No more gig worker and self-employed benefits, no more extra $300 a week and no more extended aid for the long-term unemployed.
In states cutting benefits sooner, deadlines might be motivating some to take job offers. But it’s more complicated than that.
In Tennessee, the governor says everyone should be able to find a job that’s a good fit. Workers say it’s not that simple.
Many of them will face the hardest path back into the labor force.
But they do reduce the number of people receiving food assistance.
Republican governors say the added federal benefits are discouraging people from taking jobs.
The headline is that people who’ve turned down work for health and safety reasons can be eligible for federal aid.
The headline items are $600 checks to individuals and an additional $300 per week in unemployment benefits for many.
Instead of calculating PUA benefits based on people’s income, many states have just been paying the minimum benefit.
In 29 of 41 states that reported data, people in receipt of pandemic assistance benefits were being paid below the federal poverty line.