Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that there was no evidence that enhanced unemployment benefits to address the coronavirus pandemic had “significantly held back hiring.”
Anchor George Stephanopoulos said, “President Biden said on Friday some of the temporary unemployment benefits should expire in September. Republicans like Kevin McCarthy have been saying we have to stop paying people not to work. Have the extended benefits held back hiring?”
Raimondo said, “We hear it anecdotally. I would say there is no evidence that they have significantly held back hiring. Here’s what we do know, those extended benefits have been a lifeline for Americans who have been struggling. They have meant the difference between someone being able to pay the rent or being homeless, someone being able to feed their children, or their kids going hungry. Look, the jobs report on Friday was a good report.”
“Long-term unemployment going down, wages going up, 2 million jobs created in this president’s term so far,” she continued. “The most jobs created ever in the first few months of a presidency. So they will expire in September. You know, I think the economy will continue to strengthen. But make no mistake about it, they were necessary, and they were a lifeline for Americans for the past several months during this pandemic.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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