Half of US states end enhanced pandemic unemployment benefits

Half of the states in the U.S., all led by Republican governors, have announced plans to cut off billions of dollars in federal unemployment benefits for residents, as the number of Americans who have been vaccinated continues to increase.

The enhanced weekly checks were at one point hailed as a key part of the country’s response to the pandemic. As the vaccination effort in the U.S. progresses, however, the payments have become the focus of a political battle among lawmakers over how to propel the country out of the current economic decline.

Maryland, led by GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, became the 25th state to announce an end to the weekly $300 COVID-19 unemployment benefits on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

Hogan said that while the program provided “important temporary relief” during the pandemic, it is no longer needed because “vaccines and jobs … are in good supply,” according to Reuters.

A chorus of GOP state leaders and business lobbying groups are now saying that the checks should come to an end because they are causing people to decline good jobs, which is leaving companies without the staff needed to reopen.

The Biden administration, Democrats, workers, activists and a handful of economists however, disagree with that analysis. They say a chunk of the workforce remains unemployed because of a lack of child care, fear of infection and low wages.

Additionally, White House officials are reportedly concerned that ending the benefits too quickly, before mass vaccination efforts are completed, could hurt workers and the economy, both of which are still recovering from the negative effects of the pandemic.

When asked why the White House thinks there is currently a shortage of workers in the U.S., White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said “it’s going to take time for workers to regain confidence in the safety of the workplace.”

Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi and Missouri will stop sending benefits on June 12, according to Reuters. For the other 21 GOP-led states, checks will phase out through July 10.

Reuters noted that while unemployed workers may still be entitled to regular state unemployment benefits, those guidelines vary.

Approximately 2.8 million people were receiving pandemic benefits in the 25 states set to stop them as of May 8, according to Department of Labor records cited by Reuters.

A new working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published last month determined that the additional $300 in emergency unemployment benefits likely only has a small effect on recipients’ decision to take jobs.

Last month, however, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called for states to stop offering the weekly checks, after April’s below-expectations jobs report.

In March, Senate Democrats voted to provide the $300 weekly checks through early September, which effectively undid Republicans’ effort to end the payments in mid-July.