An End to Unemployment Benefits Would Threaten Economic Recovery

Allowing unemployment benefits to expire would have serious implications for the unemployed, as well as every one of us who still has a job.

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Idea of the Day

Idea of the Day

Currently, there are nearly five workers actively searching for work for every job available, compared to just one and a half job searchers per job opening before the Great Recession began. Allowing unemployment benefits to expire amid such a weak labor market would have serious implications for the unemployed, as well as every one of us who still has a job.

The reason: An end to the benefits would threaten our economic recovery. Economists across the board agree that unemployment benefits are one of the most important countercyclical economic policies we have, helping those who do not have jobs with assistance that is immediately spent in the broader economy. Over the past few years, according to a detailed study by Wayne Vroman for the Department of Labor, benefits for the long-term unemployed led to the creation of about 700,000 new jobs each quarter.

For more on this topic, please see:

No Time to End Unemployment Benefits by Heather Boushey

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