Will the end of additional unemployment funds drive more back to the workforce?
TUCSON (KVOA) --In just a few weeks, those receiving unemployment will no longer get an additional $300. While many have returned to the workforce here in southern Arizona, there is still some hesitancy for those returning to the hospitality industry. "It was harder to find a job than I thought it would be," Diana Nemetz said. "I'm not sure why I didn't get a lot of callbacks, but I came into here through word of mouth which is usually the best way to get hired in the bartending business anyway." With an end to mask mandates and an increase in those getting vaccinated. It appears more people are returning to restaurants and bars. "We've had a lot of people like come in to apply but it seems like once they get here they don't really want to work," Melissa Cooney, bartender at Outlaw Saloon said. "I don't know if it's because they're still getting unemployment or if they're just nervous about coming to work because of COVID and it still being around." According to Arizona Commerce Authority, back in May, there were 242,762 unemployed residents, while last year around the same time, it was higher at 382,642. While the unemployment rate is going down, Arizona still has a ways to go. "We're about 84,000 jobs below before the pandemic struck from June of last year to May of this year," George Hammond, UArizona research professor said. "We're adding just over 9,000 jobs per month and that's much faster than our average during the 5 years before the pandemic." Hammond says Arizona is recovering jobs faster than the nation. "Overall, we're back on track to get back to pre-pandemic levels early next year," Hammond said. News 4 Tucson reached out to the Department of Economic Security regarding the end to additional benefits for those on unemployment. They provided us with the following statement saying in part.