Why is joblessness higher among Black and Hispanic workers?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported significant job growth in June: 850,000 new jobs . But with the unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at 5.9 percent , the debate about whether generous federal unemployment benefits keep people from returning to work continues. Last month, an Indiana state court judge, citing possible irreparable harm to the unemployed, ruled Indiana must continue participation in the federal unemployment benefits program. But twenty-five other states have ended or will soon end their use of federal unemployment benefits. Since a weaker than expected jobs report in April, there has been a steady drumbeat of calls to eliminate the current federal supplement of $300 a week, as well as other federal unemployment extensions, based on the presumption that these benefits dampen the unemployeds desire to return to work.