https://thehill.com/policy/finance/552419-five-takeaways-on-a-surprisingly-poor-jobs-report
Some states, business leaders call for cuts in supplement aid; Yellen says benefits aren’t factor in economic picture
https://www.wsj.com/articles/unemployment-benefits-become-target-amid-hiring-difficulty-11620421853
A lackluster jobs report Fridayadded fuel to efforts in Florida and elsewhere to reduce access to unemployment benefits that some state and industry leaders say have kept people from returning to the workforce.
The country is in a striking predicament, with millions unemployed and businesses that can’t find enough people to hire at current wages. The mismatch has prompted several states, including Florida, Montana and North Carolina, to tighten reporting requirements to receive unemployment benefits and shut off payments to people who turn down work.
In some cases, states are ending access to federal pandemic unemployment payments. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called for an immediate end to a $300-a-week federal jobless supplement. “The disappointing jobs report makes it clear that paying people not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market,” said Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley.
President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the jobs report—which showed that employers added a lower-than-expected 266,000 jobs in April— and said other factors such as health concerns and school closures explained the lackluster jobs report.were keeping people out of the workforce."
“I know some employers are having trouble filling jobs. But what this report shows is that there’s a much bigger problem,” Mr. Biden said. “Today’s report just underscores, in my view, how vital the actions we’re taking are: checks to people who are hurting, support for small businesses, for child care and school reopening, support to help families put food on the table,” Mr. Biden said. “Our efforts are "
metmike: What the heck is the matter with these leaders. Many businesses can't find workers because the government is paying people too much money to stay at home and NOT work and Biden says that this shows that we need to give them even more benefits/incentives to stay at home and not work.
"The government pays people big bucks NOT to work so they don’t!," U.S. Representative Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama, wrote on Twitter. "DUH! Socialism seems nice but in fact is destructive. America: learn or lose!"
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, an ally of former President Donald Trump who is jockeying to replace fellow Republican Liz Cheney in the party's leadership in the House of Representatives, blamed the jobs figure on "socialist unemployment benefits," saying many small businesses in her New York state district had told her they could not find enough workers.
Representative Ro Khanna of California and other Democrats blamed companies for not offering to pay workers more."
metmike: Sorry, but that last statement, similar to what the Biden team claims is just a completely absurd explanation that twists the reality and doesn't match up with the important facts.
Last year, the government greatly increased the benefits to people to help them get by during the emergency caused by the COVID pandemic ...........many of whom lost their jobs or could not work.
Now that the jobs are returning and they can work, the emergency reason for the government to dole out extra money is gone but the government continues to hand out extra goodies so that people don't need to go back to work.
Now, they have a choice(before, they had no choice because they couldn't work).
Go back to work and take one of the many jobs that are available at the pay they were getting before COVID or, stay at home and take advantage of the government benefits, benefits for doing nothing.
Hmmmmm tough choice. Should they work for somebody and help that company to be productive in order to get their money or should they get their money from the government and have the freedom to do what THEY want to do all day.
And the Biden team blames the fact that they are choosing to stay at home to get free money from the government..............not on the government giving them the motivation to stay home, by giving them the money to do nothing but instead, its actually on the businesses...........for not rasing the amount of money they offer..........above what the job paid before because now, they have to compete with the government to get people to work.
So instead of the government maximizing the creation of new jobs and encouraging unemployed people to work, they are doing the exact opposite.
Creating a dynamic that encourages people to NOT work.
Can't wait for all those Green fairy tales job to open up, so that we can work on obliterating the energy industry more and really mess up the environment and economy...........while telling people that we are saving the planet.
Some things have to change before we improve
1st: 300 added unemployment checks. What is the rational for this. People accepted unemployment benefits as a crutch between jobs for what ever reason. Why do people need more today??
2nd: More on 300 cheques. Let's say your benefit was 500/weeek just for a number
500 + 300 =800 times two collecting = 1600 x 50 = 80,000/yr You can adjust for 52 weeks and change the numbers but you can see the incentive to stay home
3rd: Schools have to open. Schools are largely a baby sitting opportunity for working families. Heck with time off for new born and pre-kinder age leaves very little time required to pay for child care. The a few hours after school until mom or dad comes home. Shift workers can manage the hrs with no extra cost if there is some time spent in school. I know. We did it.
4th: Minimum wage isn't going to get huge numbers of workers. Face it. We are in inflationary times and every thing costs more. Big macs will cost more as the flipper needs more incentive to work. Just the way it is and until you have no money, why look for work. Cut down on the gov't benefits and raise the pay. It will have to be done
5th: Some will accept job training. My wife took night coarses in accounting just to keep up to the demands on new methods used and regulation that keeps changing. Uf you refuse to keep up with the demands of your job, some body else will fill that spot or you will be marked for a dead end career.
6th: Much the same as above. Skilled help is required. Co's are willing to train new employees or existing employees if the will to do the training is accepted.
7th: These riots have to be brought under control. Nobody will operate a business if they think it will be burned to the ground. The USA has to produce more domestic goods. These container ships piled high with goods frrom foreign countries will, at some time eventually be a hugee blow to the USA dollar. How long can a country run trade deficits and get away with a paper promise to pay. China and some otheer countries led by china are trying to find alternative means to ttrade in currencies other than the US dollar. This will be a slow process but the amount of trade today compared to yrs pastis sloly getting smaller. Also, when the USA unposed sanctions this was effective. But sanctions have been so over used that countries such as Iran aree looking for new trade partners and saying the heck with trading with the USA
8th: The USA has to use some common sense in how many military bases are spread out around the world. This needs some serious thought of benefit vs. ROI. The cost of just one foreign military base is huge. When money was virtually free, just print up another batch, but today the dollar has serious head winds. 160 or close to that many military bases cost billions for people, supplies fuel, machinery etc. How many are really needed
So far the only things I see from the Biden administration that is helpful is school opening, and continued vaccinations, piggy backed on Trumps efforts
His jobs program will be temporary and like all such projects will be full of pork and under the table deals of which never end in how the tax dollar can be wasted
I don't know if this is socialist, communism, Marists or any number of tried and failed systems of gov't control over the people but it seems to me, this job report is a clear blue print of what to expect in the coming months and yrs.
IMHO the reserve dollar, unless serious efforts to change happens, is causing much harm to the USA and it's unwillingness to produce instead the USA lives off the rest of the world, with a piece of paper as an I.O.U..
Some say Canada is protected by the USA umbrella. Well if you folks go up in smoke, so do we. Isn't it strange that Canada can't build at least one air craft carrier and assorted escort ships. Well there is a reason for that. You know what our loonie is worth and has been. What would it be worth if we built an air craft carrier and ships to surround it. And then one well placed missile makes this kind of war fare at least 50 yrs redundant
As some lose the drive to climb the ladder and instead accept the easier route which in many times results in decay and frustration, as seen in Ca. cities, also increased crime rates etc.
At some time the music will stop
I also don't think Canada will escape the same destiny, We may just be a bitt slower Of coarse what I say will never make any changes, so why should I even think about such things???
Oh for cryin out loud guys. Yes, the report was disappointing and the numbers should have been larger. ADP reported +765k earlier this week.
But 266k in a month is not a bad number, and the key word here is "MONTH". It's the numbers for one month. Lets see what happens over the next few months before drawing conclusions. It's entirely possible the report next month will make us forget all about this one.
I agree with Tim.
It is one data point.
I will say that next month if the number is a blowout good one too.
Having said that, I am in favor of reducing the incentive at this point (small as it is). I think it expires in September which hopefully will see schools reopening in full.
Thanks.... Great comments!
I agree totally that its just 1 month and in that realm, probably just a blip.
My main concern is the explanations by our leaders...............which often send subtle messages about underlying agenda. Here are 2 examples.
1. The southern border crisis NOT being a crisis and they just need to fix the problems in the countries that are sending these people(while Biden says he's letting in all climate refugees-and everyone misses that point) and Harris NOT visiting the border because then she would have to acknowledge some dynamics and answer questions about the real world and them being anything but transparent. They clearly want many more people coming in than they will acknowledge.
2. Of course the climate crisis is totally made up. No need for a 10 page dissertation.
Sorry, but I had to give you some examples of why, when the government gives an explanation that's really strange, metmike is thinking "what's their ulterior motive?"
In this case, why are they insisting that small businesses need more help on one side of their mouth but on the other side, saying small businesses must offer more money to get these unemployed workers off the government assistance?.....which would increase payroll costs and HURT them?
This is speculation but could be a couple of things.
1. They are making statements/explanations like this, with the ulterior motive of paving the way for justification to increase the minimum wage. I'm not strongly against or for that policy but would just like our government to be more transparent and not use ruse's and tricks and subtle messages that are intended to convince us of an ideology in sneaky ways. Both sides do it in many realms, in fact it defines them.
2. They may be using it because it tells us we need more immigrants to fill those low paying jobs. The harder it is to find people willing to take jobs that we know, right now can't be filled by unemployed Americans, the bigger the case to increase immigrants who are MORE than willing to take those jobs. On this one, I am certain its at least an understanding that they appreciate but won't come out right now to state.........because that would make them transparent.
3. The general ideology of socialism includes increasing government benefits to lower income people. Again, on this, there are points which I agree with them on, some strongly but don't like how the government is not transparent about their REAL, ulterior objectives and this appears to be one of them.
4. Additional item. Biden is proposing raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%...........but there are 1 million small businesses registered/organized as corporations. His appeal to have more government spending to help small businesses seems disingenuous. Maybe he should be saying.... to help lessen the damage that he is doing to them?
What do you guys think?
. They are making statements/explanations like this, with the ulterior motive of paving the way for justification to increase the minimum wage.
IMHO they are raising the minim wage with the unemployment payments. But the purchasing value of that min wage will not go up! Markets will seek an equal librium with value
Republican push to end unemployment benefits aimed at helping Americans weather the COVID pandemic is gaining momentum after worse than expected job figures for April.
Even before Friday's release of the meagre 266,000 job gain for last month, GOP governors of Montana and South Carolina had already announced plans to no longer participate in the federal program that gives a $300 weekly boost to jobless benefits.
Economists had predicted more than one million job gains, and Friday's figures cast minds back to one year ago, when in April 2020 the U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs, the largest decline since records began.
But, last month saw the slowest improvement since January 2021 when only 49,000 jobs were added.
On Thursday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also announced his state would end its participation in the program, which he said was "incentivizing and paying workers to stay at home rather than encouraging them to return to the workplace."
Although federally funded, states have to opt in and administer the program which runs until the end of September, and as such, have the legal right to opt out.
Other Republican governors could follow suit amid a chorus of disapproval among GOP lawmakers and conservative groups at the COVID aid payments.
Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, expressed concern that one in four recipients got more in unemployment than they did working, and said that aid paymentswere "dampening what should be a stronger jobs market."
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said he would introduce a bill to phase out the payments by the end of the month.
House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement that Biden must stop doubling down on "his failed tax-and-spend agenda" and work with the GOP "otherwise "his crisis-era policies will continue to trap Americans in a cycle of fear."
The jobs numbers complicate the Biden administration's proposals for $4.1 trillion in new spending financed by tax increases on wealthy individuals and corporations.
All I know is that there are help wanted signs on every street corner in my area. Even friends are asking for other friends if they know anyone looking for work.
Something isn’t right here and my gaze is on the easy government money. This Biden honeymoon stuff is going to bankrupt the country. All the talking heads want to make it complicated. It’s not complicated. Why would anyone go to work when they can make more money sitting at home?