WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Riverbend’s lack of job applicants prompted U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, on Wednesday to call for changes to federal unemployment plans.
Speaking on the House floor, Bost said the federal government’s current COVID-related programs are “disincentivizing” people from finding work.
“Many people are making more money from unemployment insurance than they would if they were back at work,” he said. “And that is having a crippling impact on Main Street across America, including in my district. People in Washington need to hear these stories.”
Bost shared four such stories on Tuesday, including the hiring challenges faced by the Kreative Kids Learning Center in Alton. Operated by Keith Neubar, the center has helped educate local children for more than 50 years. Bost said the center is advertising for workers online, in newspapers and on social media.
“And yet he receives zero applications,” Bost said. “Zero. He’s even had to turn children away because he is so short of staff.”
Bost also cited hiring challenges at the Belleville Boot Company, Mary Lou’s Grill in Carbondale and Broadway Grille in Sparta.
”Many small business owners across America are struggling to reopen and rebuild after the COVID-19 shutdowns,” said Bost. “They simply can’t find the workers to fill their job openings.
“Why? Because the federal government is disincentivizing people from finding work,” he said. “Many people are making more money off unemployment insurance than they would if they went back to work. And that is having a crippling impact on Main Streets across America.
“This is not just a Southern Illinois issue,” he said. “It touches every community across this country.”
This week Olga’s Kitchen in the Alton Square Mall announced it is offering a $200 sign-on bonus for anyone hired during May. Olga’s is conducting open interviews every Wednesday through May, from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
On Thursday, Bank of America economists told the Associated Press that the $300-a-week federal unemployment benefit is likely discouraging some of the unemployed from looking for work.
For jobless people who earned less than $32,000 a year at their former jobs, their combined federal unemployment aid plus state benefits means they are receiving at least as much from jobless benefits as they did when they worked, according to the economists.
President Joe Biden, who included the supplemental payment in his $1.9 trillion rescue package approved in March, this week disputed that the $300 payment is to blame for the drop-off in hiring last month. But he also urged the Labor Department to work with states on renewing requirements that recipients of unemployment aid must search for jobs and take a position if offered.
The job search rule was suspended during the pandemic, when many businesses were closed and employment opportunities were few.
“Anyone collecting unemployment, who is offered a suitable job, must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits,” Biden said.
