According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy added only 266,000 jobs in April — significantly below predicted expectations. Republicans are pointing to the $300 weekly unemployment bonus included in COVID-19 relief provisions as the biggest hurdle for businesses trying to hire staff.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated in his floor remarks Monday night, "Almost every employer I spoke with specifically mentioned the extra-generous jobless benefits as a key force holding back our recovery.”
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However, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders of Vermont argued, “If [businesses] are having a very difficult time attracting labor, let them pay the workers a decent wage.”
Minimum wage differs from state to state depending on the cost of living in each state and ranges from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour. In 2016, the Democrats adopted the minimum wage to be $15 per hour nationally as part of their party platform.
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Fast-food chain Chipotle announced Monday it would hike restaurant salaries, resulting in a $15 average hourly wage by the end of June, and it expects to hire 20,000 additional workers.
“I don't think anyone's getting rich on a $300-a-week supplemental, and I think, ultimately, the way the market is supposed to work is if I want you to work for me, I've got to pay you a wage that attracts you. Let's try doing that,” Sanders commented to the Washington Examiner.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, pointed to child care as the driving force that is keeping people from going back to work.
“I think that right now, parents are struggling to find child care, and that keeps them from being able to go back to work,” she stated. “The minimum wage has not been raised in over a decade, and that makes it difficult for people to work. They look for other jobs. We need to make an investment in America's infrastructure and people’s child care.”
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Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, agreed “child care's an impediment” that is keeping people from going back to work, but he pointed out that “COVID-19 is [too] because people are worried about going back to work and interacting with the virus, especially those who haven't been back from it.”
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Casey continued, “I hope it provides some degree of focus on the issue of a lot of people not being paid very high wages … I think it leads to a larger debate about wages and a minimum wage increase.”
After April’s disappointing job’s report, many politicians are blaming high unemployment benefits which can equal $600 a week for some.
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A local representative, though, says that the unemployment benefits aren’t the problem but, instead, calling the state’s failure to address low wages “the real issue.”
“To ask people to go back to work for low wages instead of receiving a ‘living wage’ is asinine,” Rep. Jeramey Anderson tweeted Monday.
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