Amid reports of widespread labour shortages throughout the US, roughly three out of every ten recipients of unemployment insurance say they turned down job offers during the pandemic, with 45% of those citing the generosity of unemployment benefits as a primary reason for their decision, according to Morning Consult poll results.
Of those respondents who turned down job offers, the most common reason for the decision was child-care obligations, followed by coronavirus-related concerns. Just 20% of recipients who previously worked full time and 28% who worked part-time indicated that the money they receive from unemployment benefits better covers their basic expenses than the income they earned while gainfully employed. Nearly 70% of unemployment recipients surveyed said their benefits would expire by the end of August.
The Morning Consult survey was conducted among 5,000 U.S. adults from June 22 to June 25. With 14.1 million adults collecting benefits as of June 19, Morning Consult estimates unemployment insurance benefits reduced the number of accepted job offers by 1.84 million over the course of the pandemic.
Forbes
