With the continuing need for workers, many businesses are offering incentives as they try to fill jobs. One thing that hasn’t helped add workers is the early end to pandemic unemployment benefits in states like Iowa.
The early termination of pandemic unemployment insurance has not improved job rates in Iowa, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and experts.
The pandemic unemployment insurance programs, funded through the CARES Act, offered longer coverage and increased financial supplements than typical unemployment insurance. Federally, the extended benefits expired on Sept. 11, but some states, including Iowa, ended the program early. In Iowa, the benefits expired June 12, in an attempt to draw workers back to the labor force.
“Iowa Workforce Development believes it will be some time before we see the full impact of the decision to eliminate the expanded unemployment benefits,” because of a combination of other factors, said Jesse Dougherty, public information officer.
Iowa’s unemployment claims have decreased and visits to IowaWORKS offices have increased, Dougherty said.
Economists say research has not shown incentives from government programs keep people out of the labor force, according to Colin Gordon, researcher for Common Good Iowa.
“People think if (the incentives) are meager they go back into the labor force,” Gordon said. “That’s never really been true.”
Despite substantial job growth compared to this time last year, employment levels have remained stagnant since the termination of the expanded UI benefits, according to data from the BLS. From July to August, Iowa lost 6,500 jobs.
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