Surprising Response to the Benefits Cuts

This article on job searches failing to increase in states where unemployment benefits were cut popped up in my feed. I was surprised to see this kind of article this late in the game – I saw a similar article but about a month ago. Didn’t some states already cut the benefits? If so, by now I would expect job searches to be going up but a study claims that it is not seeing signs, so I’m a little confused. When was this study done? Maybe it is the timing of the article – maybe being one month or so later rather than when the report comes out.

There are a few people saying workers are being lazy and would rather live off of the $300 per week in benefits than to go back to work, but someone did do a little digging and found that those with low wages are the ones going back to work (leisure and hospitality employment had surging employment numbers while all other industries had declining employment). The professional class are more likely to have savings to tide them over until they find a job that pays just as well or better.

If workers are not eager to go back to work, it might not be because of laziness (although I’m sure there is always a few in this category). There could be other factors at play. The two that immediately comes to mind is 1) a concern about the pandemic that is still not over but about to see a surge of the Delta and/or Lambda variants and 2) an issue surrounding finding childcare that is safe. Mothers can’t go back to work if they can’t find a place that is safe for their children.

I still expect job searches to start going up but I just don’t know when. With the Delta coronavirus starting to surge rather violently at a moment when businesses are starting to demand workers to come back to the office, this moment is starting to feel very scary. Maybe those other workers feel the same way? I don’t know how vaccination plays into this because for me, even vaccination would not erase fears but I’m probably way more cautious than most people about this virus.