Analysis: No Hiring Boom in States That Cut Unemployment Benefits Early – By Michael Rainey (The Fiscal Times) / July 27 2021
In an effort to speed jobless workers’ return to employment, 20 Republican-led states reduced unemployment benefits in mid-June. But according to a new analysis, those states did not see a boom in hiring, though they did see a change in the mix of workers getting new jobs.
The analysis, performed by the payroll processing firm Gusto for The Washington Post, found that employment growth has been roughly equal in states that ended the $300 per week supplemental federal unemployment payments in June and those that are continuing to pay them until Labor Day, when Congress scheduled them to expire.
Using April 2021 as a base, the total number of employed people rose by 11.6% in the states that cut unemployment benefits by the end of June, and by 11.2% in the states that did not.
However, in the benefit-cutting states, more workers over the age of 25 returned to work in June – an increase that was offset by fewer teenagers getting jobs. By contrast, in the states maintaining benefits a higher percentage of workers aged 15-19 found jobs.
