A recently released report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed 3.4 million Americans are still long-term unemployed, a term used when someone cannot find work for over six months.
This comes as the economy added nearly a million jobs in July, defying delta variant fears and calls for the return of tighter measures to stop the spread. Covid restrictions remain mostly steady across the country. Still, the country is split on the path forward. Republican-led states are ready to move beyond COVID while Democrats look to continue fighting each new variant that the CDC warns about.
Payroll employment increased by 943,000 in July 2021 https://t.co/Kqx60zN5IX #BLSdata pic.twitter.com/fCi8iHNzao
— BLS-Labor Statistics (@BLS_gov) August 10, 2021
As Townhall reported earlier, blue states that continue government unemployment checks have seen the highest unemployment, while red states that ended government unemployment checks are leading the economic recovery.
As The Wall Street Journal observed in June, "the number of unemployment-benefit recipients is falling at a faster rate in Missouri and 21 other states canceling enhanced and extended payments this month, suggesting that ending the aid could push more people to take jobs."
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) was one of those Republicans looking to end the $300 weekly federal unemployment checks that kept people at home instead of in the workforce. He ended the handout in June, while at the same time announcing plans to give residents in his state $1,200 if they returned to work. But last week, an Oklahoma County district judge ruled the state must resume the supplemental checks to Oklahomans.
Jeremiah Tiews, a small business owner of Same Day Sharpening in Tulsa, OK, told Townhall what the judge's ruling meant for his business.
"I want to hire someone, and need to, but because I can't compete with large companies and unemployment checks, I can't find part-time employees," he said, adding that "hiring is the lifeblood of a company. I love and respect the challenges of building a business, but without employees, I won't survive."
Republicans are continuing to fight the economic consequences of the lockdown, starting out with the government checks keeping Americans at home while small businesses are struggling to find help.