San José, CA – After months of delay and weeks of infighting, on Monday, July 27 the Trump administration and the Republican Senate put forward their proposal for more economic relief from the pandemic and recession. With the $600 a week in additional benefits expiring, the Republicans want to cut this by $400 a week, down to $200. With the national unemployment benefit averaging about $350 a week, this would mean a more than 40% cut in their benefits.
Result of the federal cutoff of Extended Unemployment Benefits?
San José, CA – On Sept. 5, the Department of Labor’s monthly report on the job market said that employment grew more slowly in August. There was a rise of only 142,000 jobs, much less than the average of about 240,000 for the last six months. In addition, the Labor Department revised down the job gains for June and July by 28,000.
Washington, DC – Data released by the federal government July 18 show that many states continue to suffer from consistently high rates of unemployment. House Republican leaders are blocking efforts to restore emergency benefits for the long-term unemployed.
For the last three to four years, the U.S. government has gone an historic bout of austerity, by raising taxes and cutting spending. This has contributed to a weak economic recovery, with workers still facing an official unemployment rate of 6.7%, which would be even higher if millions of unemployed had not given up looking for work. At the same time corporate profits have boomed to record highs.
Washington, DC – Attempts to restore Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits stalled in the Senate, Jan. 14, when Republicans and Democrats clashed over what austerity measures and budget cuts would be linked to the proposed extension. Observers believe it is unlikely that any action on benefits for the long-term unemployed will take place before the end of the month.
East Orange, NJ – The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) held a protest here, Dec. 18 against the recently concluded ‘budget deal’ that will end unemployment benefits to 1.3 million people at the end of this month and to many more in months after.
