Montana ends unemployment pay increase amid employee scarcity – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

HELENA, Mont. – (AP) – Montana is ending its participation in the federal unemployment program that gives people extra weekly unemployment benefits as the state grapples with a labor shortage, Republican Governor Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday.

From June 27 through September 6, unemployed workers in the state will no longer receive $ 300 weekly federal government-funded weekly benefits.

The state will start a new program to provide bonuses to unemployed workers returning to work.

“Montana is open to business again, but I hear from too many employers in our state who can’t find workers. Almost every sector of our economy faces a labor shortage, ”Gianforte said in a statement.

He said the additional federal unemployment benefits “do more harm than good,” reiterating the comments made by some that the additional payments served as an incentive for people to stay home, collect the money and not look for work.

US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was disappointed with Gianforte’s decision, according to a statement from US Labor Department spokesman Michael Trupo.

“The decision to eliminate these critical benefits has the greatest impact on those most at risk,” Trupo said, adding that workers who are at higher risk from contracting COVID-19 or who live with a vulnerable family member , now “must make an impossible choice” between their health and their economic security.

The Department of Labor has seen no evidence that higher unemployment benefits keep people out of the workforce, Trupo said.

Montana unemployed beneficiaries can receive between $ 151 and $ 510 a week from the state program, which means that people who claim unemployment benefits from the state will get between $ 451 and $ 810 a week due to the federal boost.

The state minimum wage is $ 8.65 an hour, which is the equivalent of $ 346 a week for a full-time job.

Under the new Montana Incentive Program, workers currently on Unemployment Benefit can receive a one-time bonus of $ 1,200 after completing four weeks in their new job. The governor approved $ 15 million to fund state-allocated aid funds for federal coronavirus.

There are currently approximately 25,000 people filing jobless claims for payments in the state, according to the Montana Department of Labor. The department also estimates that there are approximately 14,000 open positions.

The state’s unemployment rate fell to 3.8% last month, reaching pre-pandemic unemployment. Despite the influx of new residents into the state, Labor Commissioner Laurie Esau said the state’s workforce was 10,000 fewer workers than it was before the pandemic

“Our labor shortage does not only affect employers and entrepreneurs. Employees who are forced to work longer shifts, serve more clients or customers, and take on more tasks have paid the price, “Esau said in a statement.

A non-partisan advisory commission made up of lawmakers and members of the Executive Bureau unanimously approved the incentive program on Tuesday before the governor approved it.

The program runs through October and is funded to distribute the awards to up to 12,500 employees.

The bonuses are awarded based on availability. Employees who leave their new job after receiving the bonus are not entitled to unemployment benefit.

These rules would “hopefully act as an incentive to get people to quickly and properly use this for a good job, which is sustainable,” said Scott Eychner, administrator at the Department of Labor.

Unemployment benefit claims in Montana rose from a prepandemic average of around 10,000 per month to 85,000 in April last year.

The federal government approved additional weekly benefits of $ 600 last spring for unemployed people receiving payments from their state’s unemployment programs. This benefit expired in July and was later replaced by the additional weekly benefit of $ 300.

In addition to ending participation in the increased unemployment benefits, Montana will also require unemployed people claiming benefits to actively seek work in late June in order to qualify, a requirement that was waived at the start of the pandemic. Several states have also announced that they will reintroduce job search requirements, including Vermont, New Hampshire, and Arizona.

A 13-week limit on the duration of unemployment benefits that was waived during the pandemic will be reintroduced. Self-employed and independent contractors were eligible for benefits under the expanded program, but are no longer eligible for unemployment benefits in Montana.

Several business owners released statements Tuesday welcoming the governor’s announcement and saying it would help them find employees.

“Finding employees has become our greatest challenge,” said Laura Carden, chief financial officer of Wheat Montana Farms & Bakery in Three Forks.

Brad Griffin, president of the Montana Restaurant Association, called the announcement “a step in the right direction”.

However, some expressed skepticism about the move, saying it had not addressed the underlying concerns that caused jobs in the state to remain unfilled, including rising housing costs and wages not high enough to pay the bills.

Billy McWilliams, owner of an adult sex shop in Bozeman, said he saw employees go over the rising cost of living. The policy change “does not address the real problems we are facing,” he said.

In cities like Bozeman, where housing costs have skyrocketed during the pandemic, workers “don’t get jobs because those jobs don’t pay enough to pay their bills,” McWilliams said.

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Samuels is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a not-for-profit national service program in which journalists report undercover issues to local newsrooms.