Jobless Claims Fall; More Republican States Cut $300 Benefits
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Applications for state unemployment insurance fell last week to a pandemic low of 444,000, signaling improvement in the job market as remaining business restrictions are lifted.
More than three-quarters of Republican-led states plan to end an extra $300-a-week in federal jobless benefits early, likely triggering a decrease in the number of those receiving the benefits in the months ahead. The Biden administration is reportedly working to devise a way to keep paying heightened unemployment benefits; two anonymous sources cited by the Washington Post said "Labor Department officials have come to believe that the government cannot legally force states to administer these benefits."
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From the Center
More Republican States Cut $300 Benefits, as Jobless Claims Fall
More than three-quarters of Republican-led states plan to end an extra $300-a-week in federal jobless benefits early, as unemployment claims reached a new pandemic low, likely triggering a decrease in the number of benefits recipients this summer.
The development came as initial unemployment claims through regular state programs dropped to 444,000 last week, the lowest level since the pandemic hit in mid-March 2020. Weekly claims are still more than double their average of 218,000 in 2019 ahead of the pandemic.
This week Texas, Oklahoma and Indiana joined the list of at...
From the Left
As GOP-run states slash jobless aid, the Biden administration finds it has few options
The Biden administration has scrambled to devise a way to keep paying heightened unemployment benefits to an estimated 3.6 million Americans who stand to lose them soon in Republican-led states, but Labor Department officials have come to believe that the law does not allow them to do so.
With a federal intervention now unlikely, jobless Americans in at least 22 states including Arizona, Ohio and Texas are set to see their payments fall by $300 each week — or be wiped out entirely — as GOP governors try to force...
From the Right
New Jobless Claims Fall 34,000 to 444,000, Slightly Better Than Expected
New jobless claims fell 34,000 to 444,000 for the week ended May 15th, data from the Department of Labor showed Thursday.
Economists had expected claims to fall to 460,000 from the initially reported 4730,000 in the prior week. The prior week was revised up to 478,000.
The 4-week moving average—which smooths out data that is often volatile week to week—fell to 504,750, a decrease of 30,500 from the previous week’s revised average.
Initial claims hit a record 6.87 million for the week of March 27, 2020, more than ten times...
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