TSR Politics: As the country gradually moves toward reopening to full capacity, President Joe Biden is urging U.S. companies to increase their wages so that Americans can get back to work.
As outlined in his job creation plan, Biden said his administration will distribute more of the coronavirus relief funds to help businesses hire more workers, but in order for Americans to get back to work, Biden is essentially reinstating a pre-pandemic unemployment policy that would require they accept “suitable” jobs.
“We’re going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits,” Biden said at a White House press conference.
He added that he did not “see much evidence” that these federal unemployment checks have deterred people from going back to work and said “Americans want to work.”
Biden did clearly say that there are exceptions to this policy, including people who have specific Covid-19 related concerns about those jobs, but the overall push to boost the workforce is coming at a time when job growth is well below expectations.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by 266,000 in April, according to CNBC. This is far from expectations of 1 million jobs created, as the unemployment rate grew to 6.1%.
Despite the slow growth, Biden says the economy is “moving in the right direction.”
He also used the data to show a need to increase covid vaccinations and pass his infrastructure and economic recovery plans. Two highlights that come from his proposal include provisions to expand affordable child care and paid leave, which are provisions that the Democrats feel will make it easier for parents to accept jobs.
Increasing child care capacity, reopening schools and boosting the rate of vaccinations should help with the hiring issues, according to Biden.
Biden also continues to fight for a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage, which is also believed to bring people back to work.
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