President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act Tuesday, March 23, 2021, at the Arthur James Cancer Hospital and the Richard Solove Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
Dick and I are not sure what Mr. Biden is talking about, because our experience sure was different on our nine-day Key West to Newport, RI road trip. At each stop, we heard, “we can’t get workers.”
After analysts predicted the U.S. economy would create one million jobs in April, last month’s jobs reports did nothing to ease concerns about inflation and the U.S. economy. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate jumped to 6.1%.
Asked why unemployment remains stubbornly high and could it be attributed to the federal government’s ongoing payout of expanded unemployment insurance (at the same level as competitive wages in many states), Joe Biden responded:
“I know there’s been a lot of discussion since Friday’s report that people are being paid to stay home rather than go to work. Well, we don’t see much evidence of that.”
However, that very day the White House announced a series of initiatives to “help Americans return to work.” Joe Biden added:
“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. There are a few COVID-19-related exceptions so that people aren’t forced to choose between their basic safety and a paycheck, but, otherwise, that’s the law.”
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