Mediaboss Marketing

Millions of unemployed workers face hardship after a wave of Republican governors announced they will seek to cancel federal extended unemployment benefits of $300 a week in response to claims from the restaurant, food service and hospitality industries that they are experiencing difficulties in hiring workers.

At least 22 Republican-led states have announced plans to cancel the extended benefits, including Montana, South Carolina, Alabama, Iowa, Idaho, Missouri, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Utah, Alaska, Georgia, West Virginia, Texas and Arizona.

The cancellations will affect more than 3.6 million workers currently relying on unemployment benefits by either wiping out or severely cutting their pay.

The American Rescue Plan signed by Joe Biden authorized federal pandemic unemployment benefits until 6 September, but these states are opting to end benefits early, beginning in June.

Nequia Nichole Fugate worked in childcare in Jefferson county, Tennessee, before the coronavirus shutdowns hit last March. She has relied on pandemic unemployment assistance as the parents she provided childcare for cannot afford childcare services at the moment.

Im really anxious and in a panic since the announcement from the governor. I cant believe this would happen during a pandemic, these benefits were the only thing helping me get by, said Fugate.

She added: Im going to be without a phone, a car, gas, groceries and money to pay for my medication. Im currently in between housing as well. Everyone has just been surviving the best they can. A majority of us dont have medical insurance, let alone a safety net of savings to fall back on. Stimulus checks have been spent on necessities, funds are lower than when the pandemic started. The struggle is real out here.

Republicans have blamed the perceived labor shortages on unemployment benefits, despite economists dismissing the benefits as a driving factor, with data showing labor shortages are confined to the leisure and hospitality sector and show no signs of spilling over to other industries or reducing growth within the leisure and hospitality sector, according to a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.

Based on the most recent job opening data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there remains a significant job deficit in several industries such as construction, arts, entertainment and recreation, with two unemployed workers for every one job opening.

Many Americans still relying on unemployment benefits are facing issues with coronavirus safety protections, lack of paid sick leave, long delays and backlogs from broken unemployment systems, a lack of jobs in their industries, and scarce childcare options.

I have a child who needs help with schooling, a mother I am taking care of with heart conditions, and also pure anxiety about getting sick, said Mary Lanier, a former restaurant manager in Charleston, South Carolina, who moved to Pennsylvania to take care of her mother during the pandemic after losing her job, but now faces losing federal extended unemployment benefits.

Jessica Calvedt worked for a grocery retail store in Waterloo, Iowa, but was terminated along with her boyfriend for taking two weeks of leave due to contracting Covid-19 in March. It took over a month for their unemployment benefits to begin, and her boyfriend still hasnt received back pay for the missed weeks.

Weve been applying and going to interviews almost daily, and still havent found a job, said Calvedt. The impact of not having those federal unemployment benefits is causing so much stress due to bills stacking up and medical issues Ive been having since I got Covid. I was depending on those funds to live and now Im worried about becoming homeless and losing everything.

Several unemployed workers in states where federal extended unemployment benefits are scheduled to be cancelled in a few weeks have circulated online petitions calling for their governors to rescind their decisions.

Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to the Department of Labor to ensure federal benefits are delivered to the jobless in states where governors have announced plans to cancel them, citing federal requirements under the Cares Act.

Organizations such as the National Employment Law Project are calling on the Biden administration to ensure federal benefits are paid out to all eligible workers in every state, as many workers are relying on unemployment benefits as a lifeline as they are not able to return to work or have the opportunity to do so.

Jen Kennedy of Clinton, Iowa, a single, self-employed mother, hasnt been able to return to working in sales because the programs for her daughter with Downs syndrome have been shut down throughout the pandemic.

I cannot leave my daughter home alone. What the heck am I supposed to do now? We will lose everything, said Kennedy.

Read the original here:
Millions of unemployed in US face hardship under Republican benefit cuts - The Guardian