US

New York Times, Wall Street Journal Reach Opposite Conclusions On States Canceling Unemployment Bonus

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Thomas Catenacci Energy & Environment Reporter
Font Size:
  • The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reached completely opposite conclusions when analyzing data from states pulling out of the coronavirus unemployment program.
  • The WSJ concluded that fewer residents of states that have withdrawn from the federal enhanced benefits are filing for unemployment in an analysis published Sunday while The New York Times reported over the weekend that employers aren’t seeing an uptick in applicants.
  • “While these benefits provided supplementary financial assistance during the height of COVID-19, they were intended to be temporary, and their continuation has instead worsened the workforce issues we are facing,” Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in a May statement announcing the state’s withdrawal from the federal program.

Two mainstream news outlets reached completely opposite conclusions when analyzing data from states pulling out of the coronavirus unemployment program.

The Wall Street Journal concluded that fewer residents of states that have withdrawn from the federal enhanced benefits are filing for unemployment in an analysis published Sunday. But, citing workforce development officials, The New York Times reported over the weekend that employers aren’t seeing an uptick in applicants.

“You’re starting to see a response to these programs ending,” Jefferies LLC chief financial economist Aneta Markowska told the WSJ. “Employers were having to compete with the government handing out money, and that makes it very hard to attract workers.”

Both the WSJ and NYT specifically analyzed unemployment data from Missouri. In May, Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced the state would withdraw from the federal program that awards unemployed Americans an additional $300 per week on June 12. (RELATED: Just 14 States Had Positive Job Growth In May)

“While these benefits provided supplementary financial assistance during the height of COVID-19, they were intended to be temporary, and their continuation has instead worsened the workforce issues we are facing,” Parson said in a statement at the time.

The view shared by Parson, Markowska and many other experts was supported by state unemployment data and Missouri business owners interviewed by the WSJ. Linda Eigelberger, a senior executive of the large St. Louis-based hotel chain Midas Hospitality, said it was “crazy” how quickly people began applying for jobs once the state exited the federal program.

Overall, the number of individuals receiving unemployment benefits fell 13.8% in states like Missouri that withdrew from the federal program in June. That same number fell 10% in states withdrawing from the program in July and just 5.7% in states that won’t withdraw until the program expires nationwide in September.

Gov. Mike Parson speaks during a press conference in 2019 in Jefferson City, Missouri. (Jacob Moscovitch/Getty Images)

Gov. Mike Parson speaks during a press conference in 2019 in Jefferson City, Missouri. (Jacob Moscovitch/Getty Images)

However, the NYT interviewed recruiting officials and individuals looking for work in Missouri who said there hasn’t been a substantial change in job searchers since Parson announced unemployed residents would soon stop receiving the $300 weekly bonus.

“We were hoping we would see pre-pandemic levels,” Courtney Boyle, the general manager of Missouri recruiting agency Express Employment Professionals, told the NYT.

Boyle’s firm decided to leave a St. Louis job fair early because there were so few people that showed up, according to the NYT. (RELATED: Inflation Takes Biggest 12-Month Leap Since 1990s, Key Report Shows)

The NYT also cited statistics from job site Indeed, which showed clicks on job postings were below average in states exiting the federal program. Previous Indeed data showed the opposite.

Cornell University economist Francine Blau blamed the labor shortage on the proliferation of jobs with wages that can’t cover housing, food and health expenses, the NYT reported. Job vacancies hit a record 9 million in April, according to a recent Labor Department report.

Blau’s view has been espoused by the White House, which has vigorously defended the $300 weekly benefit. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last month that there wasn’t “much evidence” that the weekly bonus had contributed to the labor shortage.

“With respect to the [unemployment] benefits — you heard the president earlier today — that program was designed as a temporary lifeline,” Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese said during a press conference on June 4. “The [unemployment insurance] program itself provides a critical support network to the American people and the American economy.”

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel