business

Where are the workers? Cutoff of jobless aid in U.S. spurs no influx

59 Comments
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and CASEY SMITH

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


59 Comments
Login to comment

That $300 per week was appropriated by the US Congress. The Republican governors should not have had the authority to issue an edict that the people in their state "didn't deserve it" like the bone-headed governor of Arizona said.

This article shows just how out of touch and relentlessly wrong Republican governors and Republicans in general are on everything. Wrong. About. Everything.

-4 ( +8 / -12 )

And that $18.90 (you'll have to work shift work for it) will net about $2,200 per month before they deduct any insurance costs because there is no way people will get any insurance with this job.

It's also more than $20,000 less than the average full time wage in the US.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Earlier this year, an insistent cry arose from business leaders and Republican governors: Cut off a $300-a-week federal supplement for unemployed Americans.

The GOP, they really feel the plight of the little guy and are working to improve their lives. Or trying to convince them that a bigger threat to their livelihoods is CRT and immigrants,.

Labor shortages have persisted longer than many economists expected, deepening a mystery at the heart of the job market.

This canard keeps on being repeated. Even the $15 minimum wage is unlivable in most major urban centers in the US. The late stage capitalist "free" labor market is untenable and has been rigged to be a hamster wheel race to the bottom for most workers from the beginning. Instead of spending their hours in the pursuit of wages that cannot even support basic necessities , people are learning to live with less, learned during the pandemic and are opting out of the game.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

So, it’s not benefits. It’s not immigrants stealing mah job.

It’s the same story as always, ‘BigBusiness’.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Data suggests many of the workers who are quitting their jobs or not returning to their old jobs are doing so to start their own business.

https://digital.com/why-are-workers-quitting-1-3-are-starting-their-own-businesses/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/employees-quitting-the-9-to-5-to-be-their-own-boss-during-the-pandemic.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanhall/2013/03/11/im-outta-here-why-2-million-americans-quit-every-month-and-5-steps-to-turn-the-epidemic-around/?sh=13a2f1606484

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Labor shortages have persisted longer than many economists expected, deepening a mystery at the heart of the job market. Companies are eager to add workers and have posted a near-record number of available jobs. Yet job growth slowed in August and September.

Well, maybe not too much of a mystery.

Yesterday from our friends at Reuters: Labour market scarcity set to last years, says outgoing CEO of Randstad.

Labour market shortages will be a major theme “for years to come”, the chief executive of global staffing group Randstad said on Thursday . . . “The big theme is scarcity in the labour market,” said Jacques van den Broek, who will be replaced after two terms by Sander van ‘t Noordende . . . “We do think that scarcity is going to be structural,” Van den Broek told journalists, adding that market shortages were largely the result of demographics with older employees leaving and fewer entering the workforce. “This is going to be the theme for years to come,” he said. “Jobs in demand are in healthcare, education, technology and logistics.”

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Ultimately this will be good for the U.S. Wage rates are simply too low in too many industries in America. Wall Street needs to curtail their expectations of bumper profits every quarter and come to accept that a greater slice of the pie needs to go into workers pockets.

Ultimately it will result in more financial stable people, families, familes will be able to consider having children or more children, lower rates of substance abuse, lower rates of homelessness, better mental and physical health outcomes. On and on it goes.

A general uptick in workers wages would be highly positive for the U.S overall.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Many people got a taste of financial independence thanks to government stimulus checks and the once-in-a-lifetime stock market bottom and boom.

Personally, I was 27-years-old when the lockdowns started, and my net worth was just $500K. When the market bottomed, my net worth dropped to $250K. Today, I'm sitting on $10 Million as a 29-year-old. I'm still working my $200K job in corporate America, but believe me, the urge to just quit and live on dividends is strong. 2020 made many young people into millionaires.

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

I think Trump is the reason behind these problems

He is the one who ordered to pay life support to all citizens. His policy to help corona affected families was good. But keep on paying the support will destroy the country.

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

@non party

I think Trump is a clown, but I think stimulus measures were necessary to prevent the economy from completely collapsing.

People in high-skilled jobs like me are fine, but a lot of the economy is made up of service workers that interact face-to-face with their clientele. If they had received no support, the ramifications would have made the Great Recession look like a picnic.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

I think Trump is a clown, but I think stimulus measures were necessary to prevent the economy from completely collapsing.

People in high-skilled jobs like me are fine, but a lot of the economy is made up of service workers that interact face-to-face with their clientele. If they had received no support, the ramifications would have made the Great Recession look like a picnic

Lots of folks have had time to re-evaluate what is important in life.

Many of these workers realized that the pay is not worth their health and the grief of dealing with MAGA supporters, daily.

Even those staying at their jobs do not want to return to the office but prefer remote work.

Also, not all industries are hurting for workers. These people not returning to their jobs are finding other sources of income.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

@Numan

You are correct.

I love my job, and I'm paid extremely well, but even I'm considering quitting and living off my investments.

People got a huge taste of the easy, no-job lifestyle either from government stimulus checks or the wild stock market rally since March 2020. Once you get a taste of it, it's really hard to want to go back to the boring 9-5 job with crappy 1-hour commutes.

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

A lot of workers have a spouse that brings in a salary and those couples have decided that they don't both need to work.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Let’s draw some flak…lol Generalized I would say, the white old men are tired and sick from it all and the other population groups are not capable to fill the qualification requiring jobs at offer. In addition the known common problem, companies might be eager to hire, but nowhere in the whole universe you will hear that they are eager to pay adequately or more than average. And last but not least, two acute developments; the majority cannot reach a career, safe job or sufficient money, even when working hardest or giving all the best, meaning as consequence that the former main promises of capitalism aren’t valid anymore for most people. Second , of course corona, you can’t currently buy everything or travel anywhere, even if you had the maximum money out of your job. And we all still don’t know from the current numbers, if that pandemic is really only temporary for some last months or years, disappears completely or even strikes us more and harder in the future with new viruses or their mutations and variants. Now your turn…what makes the masses working again, for nothing and for no outlook? Any idea?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

@Sven Asai

Not trying to sound like an elitist, but I think many people don't realize that they're not as smart and useful as they think they are. People who have a valuable skillset and a high logical reasoning ability are paid extremely well. I've never had problems getting greater than inflation raises and promotions even when I never asked for them.

Things are a lot easier today than they were back in the 1800s, where kids were working in factories or doing back-breaking labor in a railroad. The boomers had an easier time in life, because they grew up when the other countries were destroyed after WW2 and labor was valuable. Times are different now.

I think the solution is to just be honest - boomers had it easier in life, and it's not their fault. You shouldn't compare your living standards to the boomers. It's just not happening again unless there's another major war that wipes out a sizeable amount of the population.

Most people throughout history were serfs or slaves. Be thankful you're not one.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

“We're in a different point in time than we have been in a very long time,” Todd said. “The job seeker is truly in the driver’s seat right now."

and thats how it should be , Americans are sick and tired of being used as poverty labor, if these businesses want to keep workers then pay a livable wage with decent benefits, keep refusing to do it then see your business lose workers to companies that will

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Most people throughout history were serfs or slaves. Be thankful you're not one.

and people know theyre not, so employers have to pay them what they need to live, if not then dont expect any workers

5 ( +6 / -1 )

In Germany and Japan the average ratio between highest paid and lowest paid in a company is about 10. In US this ratio is 250!

That is why nobody wants to work in US. It is totally unfair, workers are treated worse than slaves. US needs laws limiting this ratio to 10.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

@wtfjapan

The money will run out soon, and people will have to work those low-paying jobs or go homeless. We just have to wait.

Life sucks for most people. I know. But having billions of people working low wage jobs is better than Weimar-style hyper inflation crash that'll discourage top talent from working hard and keeping society running. Nobody would win in that situation.

People need to stop being arrogant and greedy. You are paid what you are worth. Moving rocks around in a desert is hard work, but you shouldn't be paid for that kind of job since nobody values it.

-11 ( +2 / -13 )

@viktor Cernatinskij

You shouldn't be paid more than your worth. It's just asking for hyper-inflation.

If you are truly valuable, then you should easily negotiate higher pay and benefits from your employer.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

The money will run out soon, and people will have to work those low-paying jobs or go homeless. We just have to wait.

By "we" I presume you count yourself among among this economic elite who want to use the forces of coercion and raw need to force people to do jobs that earn wages that cannot support a minimal standard of living in most places.

Life sucks for most people. I know. But having billions of people working low wage jobs is better than Weimar-style hyper inflation crash that'll discourage top talent from working hard and keeping society running

The "job creator" myth. I would say that a large group of high earners, especially in the financial sector, are a drag upon society (see bailouts). During the pandemic we were witness to which workers were "essential" (nurses, service staff) and they are woefully underpaid. Elon Musk, despite his family emerald mine beginnings, I will give you is benefiting society in several ways overall.

People need to stop being arrogant and greedy. You are paid what you are worth.

It is workers being greedy? The post above yours shows the vast gaps in earnings. Many are paid far in excess of their worth, in the article we have a few exhibits like JP Morgan Chase execs and former president and multiple bankrupt Donald Trump.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

@dagon

By "we" I presume you count yourself among among this economic elite who want to use the forces of coercion and raw need to force people to do jobs that earn wages that cannot support a minimal standard of living in most places.

I admit that I'm speaking from a place of immense privilege. I grew up extremely poor, but I scored well on the SATs, got a full scholarship to a top 15 university, and got a pretty good finance gig after graduation. I didn't lose my job from the COVID lockdowns, and my net worth ballooned to over $10 million after making a successful bet on TSLA call options from the March marketcrash.

That said, poor people are speaking from a place a jealousy. You don't have to live in Midtown Manhattan and drive a Tesla to live a fulfilling life. I also care deeply about maintaining a peaceful society, and rampant hyper inflation is going to cause more misery than people working boring 9-5 jobs.

The "job creator" myth. I would say that a large group of high earners, especially in the financial sector, are a drag upon society (see bailouts). During the pandemic we were witness to which workers were "essential" (nurses, service staff) and they are woefully underpaid. Elon Musk, despite his family emerald mine beginnings, I will give you is benefiting society in several ways overall.

I'm not speaking of just business owners. A lot of intellectually talented people produce lots of wealth and dominate markets. Apple killed off Japanese phone makers, and now Tesla will kill off Japanese automakers. The people with the talent to keep our industries competitive are paid handsomely.

The others need to work harder to earn that same privilege. Just paying you more than your worth doesn't work.

It is workers being greedy? The post above yours shows the vast gaps in earnings. Many are paid far in excess of their worth, in the article we have a few exhibits like JP Morgan Chase execs and former president and multiple bankrupt Donald Trump.

Yes, if you look at the extremes, some CEOs have questionably high pay. However, you don't need to earn millions of dollars to lead a good lifestyle. Valuable people will get paid a good $100+K and live a good life. The system is working fine.

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

@Reckless

Another reason why we should end unemployment benefits ASAP and force them back to work.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

people are still living off their regular unemployment and the bitcoin and meme stock investments they made with the extra stimulus checks and the extra $300 per month that Biden gave them to not work.

That money will be dried up by Christmas and by January, its back to work. At which time Biden will be praised for his "job creation" numbers that are really just people going back to work.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

@zichi

500,000 new jobs were created last month.

Yes, it seems that the free money is running out and those people will need to go back to work.

Yeah, life sucks for most people, but people shouldn't be given a life of luxury and leisure without working for it.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

The pandemic allowed me to ditch my 9-5 and turn my hobby into a business.

Im looking to set up one more passive income source at the moment but working for other people is now just a distant memory

6 ( +6 / -0 )

@zichi

Many super-rich people are also given a life of luxury without working for it and avoid paying the amounts of taxes ordinary people pay. Like the Pandora Papers.

Children of rich people are living off the fruits of their parents (Or ancestors). I think that is fine. Wanting your child to live an easy life is a motivation for talented people to work hard.

It is not free money. No one receiving any kind of unemployment, welfare, or social benefits are living a life of luxury. They are struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills.

Lots of people were making more money off unemployment than their jobs thanks to the $600/week Federal unemployment stimulus. Most unemployed people last year were making more than they ever have before.

If you are fortunate to live without needing any of the benefits then good for you but don't mock others who do. Unemployment and poverty are not fun.

Yes, poverty is not fun. I've been there when I was a child.

I am not mocking the poor. I'm simply stating that it is ridiculous to think most people should be having a life of play and no work. I don't know anyone who would argue that except for trolls.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/08/september-jobs-report.html

September's jobs creation comes up short with gain of just 194,000

500,000 new jobs were created last month.

so no there were not 500,000 jobs created last month. talk about living in a bubble.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

It makes complete sense that people on unemployment have Bitcoin.

A survey conducted by CNBC and Momentive found that 11 percent of the 5,530 interviewees between the ages of 18 and 34 had purchased cryptocurrency with the money received from the stimulus payments.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Nearly 10% of the $380 billion in stimulus checks may be used to buy bitcoin and stocks: survey

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nearly-10-of-the-380-billion-in-stimulus-checks-may-be-used-to-buy-bitcoin-and-stocks-survey-131009531.html

Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins

https://www.wired.com/2013/09/bitcoin-homeless/

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Beside the fact the USA is an open air lunatic asylum, its job 'market offers: lousy, boring, mind-numbing, low-wage employment, part-time positions, no benefits, no pension. Union jobs are rare. and essentially, it is a service economy. Automation is beginning to eliminate jobs - and not necessarily does it increase actual efficiency and profit.

As for those in the vulture industries aka finance & investment who simply profit off of paper - those are the jobs that need to be eliminated or heavily taxed. Let alone is there a need for a billionaire class, which should be eliminated through various means of legislation - though that is perhaps impossible as the newly enfranchised super-rich own the levers of power which includes politicos from top to bottom.

Work in the USA, on a whole stinks, it reeks of inequity and exploitation, let alone any manner of satisfaction.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

At TeslainvesterAd: I have to disagree with you that life sucks for most people. The only people I know that life sucks for are those that need to be the big man or woman in town, but in actuality are not happy. Everyone else I know whether living like me and the wife traveling are as happy as our friends working easy simple jobs. It is all attitude. Life is good and all our friends are happy, even those unemployed. Donate some of your ten million to better life for humans and animals in your area as we do in Japan.

Cannot take the Tesla with you when you are gone.

Catch some waves. Good swell coming into Shonan on Thursday.

Signed, The Japan Traveling Duo

TeslaInvestorToday  04:46 pm JST

@zichi

500,000 new jobs were created last month.

Yes, it seems that the free money is running out and those people will need to go back to work.

Yeah, life sucks for most people, but people shouldn't be given a life of luxury and leisure without working for it.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

“May” AND was. Not a survey. Too bad.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, there was "a significant increase in Bitcoin buy trades" in the amount of $1,200. This increase occurred after the first stimulus checks authorized by the CARES Act were distributed in April of 2020. These stimulus checks were for $1,200 per eligible adult, which is why the $1,200 number was relevant in determining the impact of stimulus checks on Bitcoin trades.

The Federal Reserve Bank determined that, in total, trading volume of Bitcoin increased by approximately 3.8% in response to the distribution of the first stimulus check. The majority of people who used their first COVID-19 stimulus payment to buy Bitcoin were found to be individuals without families, and most of them were non-professional investors.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

hmmm I posted this.

*https://www.wired.com/2013/09/bitcoin-homeless/*

yet your claim is that I don’t know it’s 2013 article? It’s in the URL I posted. Just was proving to you that you had 8 years to learn something you still don’t know.

Being from 2013 doesn’t make it untrue. It’s even more true today than it was then.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Fun Fact: if you get kicked off of unemployment benefits and decide to go on Welfare, there are 14 states in the US where the government dole pays higher than what the Dems call a "living wage", if the benefits are divided into an equivalent number of 8 hour workdays.

In 30 states, the average hour equivalent of going on Welfare is over 10 USD per hour. The more kids you have, the more money you now get, thanks to Biden's new handouts, too. Two parents plus three kids, we're talking the equivalent of pulling in 25 USD an hour total...and higher, in the vast majority of states now. All funded by the nonstop printing of "debt".

With the Yen/Dollar exchange rate where it is now, you make more doing nothing on Welfare in most US states than you do working full-time as an "English teacher" here in Japan starting at 250,000 yen a month.

These are facts. What does one expect? Under Biden and the Dumb Dems, it literally now PAYS to do NOTHING!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I guess the US is finally starting to deliver the 'leisure economy' that was promised some decades ago. Migrant labour has been chased away, repatriated or blocked from employment. That leaves a large shortfall in all sorts of sectors - childcare, healthcare and those called keyworkers. If women decide they want to go back to being 'homemakers', enticed back home by Netflix and lockdown hobbies, that will be another loss. Simply offering people more money won't fix it (although those on low pay do deserve to earn more). The economy will have to contract. Stuff won't get done. Governmental infrastructure projects that have been announced, like Biden's, may not be viable, even if funded, as there won't be enough workers to do them. Tax receipts will go down so public spending on services will have to contract, or taxes will have to rise. This is an unhealthy economic spiral but may be good for covid, if more people imprison themselves at home. Less so for climate change as there will be less public, corporate and personal cash to pay for green initiatives. But, we are supposed to focus on covid now, so climate change spending will have to wait.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Many people never believed the narrative that the Covid relief money was the cause - it simply wasn't that much money. No, it was a simple answer designed to satisfy simple minds ...

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Sure glad to be retired in Japan. Saved and did well. Good luck everyone.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

> @RecklessToday  10:12 pm JST

I am always surprised that rich persons are often the cheapest and cruelest.

> -1( +0 / -1 )

Not True

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Wall Street needs to curtail their expectations of bumper profits every quarter and come to accept that a greater slice of the pie needs to go into workers pockets

And that will never happen, If that happens.. Wall Street itself will go out of existence..

1 ( +1 / -0 )

adding that market shortages were largely the result of demographics with older employees leaving and fewer entering the workforce. “This is going to be the theme for years to come,” he said. “Jobs in demand are in healthcare, education, technology and logistics.”

In other words expect mass scale blue collar immigrants..

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Nonsense, hitobito. A single person in the US gets about $200 per month and a family of 4 can expect $900 per month maximum..

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The pandemic benefits ended months ago. For most people, it was the "leg up" they needed to move on to better jobs.

Most people I know then moved on to better paying jobs.

There was already a labor shortage before the pandemic. The pandemic just amplified it.

For the majority of Americans, wages have not kept pace with inflation for over 40 years. It has a lot of catching up to.

If businesses cannot compete on wages, too bad for them. They have no mandate from heaven to stay in business if they cannot compete. That's the first law of business. Compete or die.

Businesses made this bed, now they have to lie in it. The consequences have arrived.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I am always surprised that rich persons are often the cheapest and cruelest.

No surprise, it's how they became rich.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

“I am unemployed,” Berryman said. “That does not mean I’m lazy. Just because someone cannot find suitable work in their profession doesn’t mean they’re trash to be thrown away.”

Why would you want to be forced to return to a terrible job? If anything people if they didn't pass away due to COVID have probably upgraded themselves. A lot of restaurant employees did that here and unsavory owners who drive BMW's and have three houses are suddenly having to scale down their operations. No loss, really

1 ( +2 / -1 )

From what I understand these benefits are the most basic of necessities. If you cannot compete on wages then you were never a real job just a scam.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

There is no Labor shortage in the U.S. At $20.00/hr an employer can hire all the unskilled workers they want. And don't say how the employers will have to raise prices. Two of the cheapest fast-food restaurants in Charlotte pay over $18.00 starting salary and they have some of the cheapest burgers. There is only a shortage of people willing to work for a wage you cannot even afford a one bedroom apartment on that has no benefits. I do tech support and my company found out $25.00/hr wasn't getting people to apply but when they went up in starting salary they could get applications.

This is all a scam that Republicans, Corporations and businesses are running to keep salaries from rising.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I am not mocking the poor. I'm simply stating that it is ridiculous to think most people should be having a life of play and no work. I don't know anyone who would argue that except for trolls

The rich for thousands of years have preached the dignity of hard work, while taking care themselves to remain undignified in this respect. - Bertrand Russell

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I am always surprised that rich persons are often the cheapest and cruelest.

Maybe that's why they're rich.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

There is no more fitting a symbol of working in American than a wage offer with an asterisk after it.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites