Catherwood LibraryILR School

Maryland became the 25th state on Tuesday to decide to end the $300 per week federal unemployment benefit early before it lapses in September. The 25 states who are ending the benefit between June 12th and July 10th are all led by Republican governors, who are rejecting continuing the Biden economic stimulus plan because many employers are having difficulty recruiting workers away from unemployment. The Republicans say that with the greater availability of vaccines and jobs, the benefit was no longer necessary. The Biden administration argues that there are other reasons that people are not re-entering the workforce - including lack of childcare, continued fear of infection, and low wages, as well as the time needed to go through the vaccination process. Currently 41% of the United States' 328 million people are fully vaccinated. The Biden stimulus had been considered necessary to dig the U.S. out of a persistent recession, but the benefit's long-term popularity has aligned politically with the country's continuing and deep divide over how best to deal with the pandemic. A May poll by Quinnipiac University found that 54% of Americans approved of ending the benefit early.