Extra Jobless Benefits Aren’t Holding Back the Economy
An additional $300 a week isn’t keeping most workers out of the labor force, and the extra cash is a boon overall.
This is more nuanced than $300 a week.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
With overall employment appearing to bounce back, the argument by some politicians that overly generous enhanced jobless benefits are impeding the economic recovery is losing steam. Moreover, the extra cash will turn out to be a good thing in the long run.
Since the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was passed earlier this year, unemployed people have been authorized to receive an additional $300 in weekly federal benefits in addition to any other payouts they collected. Those extra benefits are being phased out in September, but dozens of states have opted to end them earlier, citing labor-market shortages.