Extending unemployment benefits may have seemed politically expedient at the time(s), but if a high unemployment rate is, as many think, an insurmountable hurdle for an incumbent president, it could backfire big time...
The story behind the story of the 8.1% unemployment rate, is the 14.5% "true" unemployment rate - when you factor in those who have "left the workforce"... Now think about it; of course you wouldn't do this, but do you think maybe a few of the unemployed would pretend to look for a job for 99 weeks, then when their unemployment checks run out, step out of the workforce? You think maybe a lot would? I mean if benefits were to cease after say 26 weeks (the olden days), today's dropout would've dropped out (dropping the headline unemployment rate) 72 weeks ago, right?...
As for the jobs that have been landed of late, I wonder to what extent that's the result of folks having to go to work now that their benefits have finally expired? Again, the U.S. employment picture, I think, would have started looking a whole lot better a whole lot sooner were it not for the unemployment benefit extensions...
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