Will Pennsylvania end the extra $300 payments for unemployed workers early?

HARRISBURG, Pa. — More than a dozen states will stop the extra $300 a week federal unemployment benefits early, but Pennsylvania is not considering joining the list as of now.

Congress extended the weekly boost through September as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Many of the states have Republican governors and say the extra money incentivizes people to stay home and create a labor shortage. West Virginia and Ohio are both among those states and plan to end the program near the end of June.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry tells WPXI that they have “not found the additional unemployment benefits to be a primary factor in the perceived labor shortage.” Instead, the department says they “found that a variety of personalized factors” contributing to specific industries having issues finding workers. The state went on to say in their response to our question that some people are still waiting on their COVID-19 vaccine and are only partially vaccinated.

“As more Pennsylvanians become vaccinated, these workers will feel more comfortable returning to the workforce, especially in public-facing industries,” said the Department of Labor and Industry in an email statement.

“Most jobs don’t offer child care. If we’re both working, who is watching her? We don’t have that benefit and that luxury,” said Sidonie Cowan-Page of Pittsburgh.

She and her partner Isaac lost their jobs in the restaurant industry last spring. The couple says child care and career change training are two things that have stopped them from being able to return to work fully.

The Department of Labor and Industry adds that there is another reason keeping people from heading back to the workforce. “Seventy percent of Pennsylvania public school children are enrolled in schools that are fully or partially remote through the end of the semester,” they explain. “Additionally, approximately 400 of the 7,000 licensed child care facilities in Pennsylvania remain temporarily or permanently closed, making finding affordable child care more difficult.”

>>>RELATED: What’s stopping people from returning to work?

WPXI has been reporting on the state of jobs in our area for weeks. Many different business owners tell us they are having issues getting employees from restaurants to the building industry.

“I spent about $400 in the last six weeks on ads,” said Bobby Kaczorowski, the owner of BRK Custom Concrete. “I tried Indeed; I tried Facebook. Nothing is really working. People respond, but they want to come work for cash.”

Camp Kon-O-Kwee in Beaver County canceled its teen program and is limiting sessions this summer because they can’t find enough workers. Restaurants like Primanti Brothers and Burger King are offering signing bonuses to attract candidates.

“You’re going to get paid to stay at home. I can see people’s point. Why would they work? They can stay home with their families,” said Valerie Dowds, the co-owner of Stinky’s Bar and Grill in Lawrenceville.

In April, Stinky’s increased its hourly wages for most of its positions. While things are improving, Dowds said they are still having trouble finding takers.

The Department of Labor and Industry also says the pandemic “disproportionally caused job loss in lower-wage industries, leading to the appearance of a worker shortage in these industries as jobs are regained due to these workers transitioning to other, higher-quality jobs.” The department says two-thirds of unemployed workers look into working in a different industry than what they were employed in before the pandemic began.

The most recent Unemployment Claims Report from the Pennsylvania Economy League of Greater Pittsburgh shows that our region saw an unemployment rate higher than the national average from January through May. The data reveals that as the restrictions lifted, the continuing unemployment claims decreased since February.

The reports showed that our region saw five impacted industries starting in May. “The top five most impacted industries are Construction; Administrative and Waste Services; Transportation and Warehousing; Accommodation and Food Services; and Manufacturing for continuing unemployment claims,” as was written in the report released on Monday.

Lastly, the Department of Labor and Industry tell WPXI in their statement that “Gov. Wolf has been working to increase access to affordable, reliable child care through programs that support child care workers. His minimum wage proposal would help eliminate poverty wages by increasing pay for all workers to $12 an hour with a path to $15.”

The department has hosted multiple media briefings about the minimum wage this spring.

States are opting out of weekly $300 federal unemployment payments (NCD)

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