A new wave of American workers filed for unemployment some who are the first-timer. Article by NBC said, “The employment claims bought a cumulative total to an astonishing 16 million over the past three weeks.”
So far, jobless claims look to me like the only limitation on the number of applications has been the states’ ability to process those claims.
NBC said, “The cumulative toll of the last three weeks comes as last week’s Labor Department release showed that the economy shed 701,000 jobs in March a figure far more negative than anticipated, although economists said it only captured a fraction of the carnage in the labor market that largely took place in the second half of the month.”
26 states covering about 70 percent of the U.S. workforce already have formal programs to provide financial help to employers who embrace shared-work policies; those states need to do more to make employers aware of the option. And states that don’t yet have formal shared-work programs can and should put them in place quickly.
The best option the government always forget is that programs work. Here’s how work-sharing, or “short-time compensation” programs work.
An article by Politico new said, “Employers experiencing a temporary reduction in business agree to cut employees hours instead of laying off workers entirely. Employees on reduced hours receive unemployment benefits in proportion to the reduction in their hours.” Businesses benefit by retaining valued employees and avoiding recruitment and training costs when economic conditions return to normal. Workers benefit by retaining most of their income and access to health insurance — a critical factor in a public health-triggered economic crisis like this one.
By helping to keep people in their jobs, work-share programs mitigate unemployment. And short-time compensation benefits are well-targeted, reaching exactly the people who are suffering a drop in earnings and are likely to need the money the most. In this sense, they are better targeted and more likely to provide direct economic stimulus than cutting payroll taxes or sending checks to everyone.
Shared-work programs are specifically designed to help businesses and workers and their communities get through temporary economic disruptions like those caused by COVID-19.
Sources:
Opinion: The Smart Way to Save Jobs in the Time of Coronavirus. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/news/agenda/2020/03/18/smart-way-save-jobs-coronavirus-135544
White, M. C. (2020, April 9). Unemployment claims surge by 6.6 million as coronavirus continues to rout U.S. workforce. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/another-6-6-million-americans-lost-their-job-last-week-n1179611
Sy Barnes 