Higher Unemployment Pay May Be Stifling Economic Growth
As the owner of a recruiting firm, I see employment trends first hand, in real time. Trending now is the repetitive conversation with candidates on why they should leave their $800+ per week unemployment check for a full time, well-paying hourly job with health insurance benefits. It is unprecedented, and I have been doing this for 25 years.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a firm believer in unemployment benefits and helping those in need. However, the challenge we are seeing right now is that some people are making more per week than they did while employed and they don’t even have to get out of bed. It is unhealthy to not have work and a purpose each day. If you break the $800+ per week down; $20+ per hour for a 40 hour work week.
This creates a huge challenge for our client companies who are in need of employing production workers to operate at full capacity. While many service businesses are down, there has been a shift in industries. Our clients are hiring now. Our firm has no less than 45 open positions in Milwaukee right now paying $16 to $32 per hour. Manufacturers of plastics, food products, hand sanitation dispensers, chemicals, cleaning products, landscaping, construction, HVAC/plumbing trades are in growth modes right now. Even some entry level IT, engineering and manufacturing are competing against an unemployment check. Candidates are passing up job opportunities and saying “call me at the end of July when my unemployment check goes down; then I will consider going back to work”. The US has unintentionally incented the unemployed to remain unemployed longer than necessary. It is ludicrous!
Kathy Panaro, President
The Panaro Group LLC - Your Strategic Recruiting & Outplacement Partner
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