Unemployment benefits become a controversial cap for returning to work in the U.S.

Frank Phillips, the owner of a coffee franchise located in Paulding, Georgia, says he received 200 job applications once he opened a new job. For the last opening he did in March, he was 35.

He is to blame for the unemployment benefits that laid-off workers are receiving during the year pandemic, enjoyed with a supplement from the federal government, now adds $ 300 a week to checks received from states.

“There’s too much competition in the market when the federal government plays on that playground,” Phillips says. “We need to get rid of the federal government so we can do business.”

As states pull out the blockade and the economy moves forward, companies, especially the leisure and hospitality businesses, have reported that they cannot find enough employees to meet the high demand.

Including some larger companies Walmart, McDonald’s and Chipotle workers have tried to attract incentives such as hiring bonuses and raising wages, while some smaller companies say they are forced to fill more shifts or reduce operations.

Some fear that a shortage of volunteer workers could prevent companies from recovering from the pandemic and benefiting from growing demand. Conservatives say the Biden administration’s extension of $ 300 a week in unemployment insurance benefits until September could turn some workers away from certain job seekers instead of looking for a new job.

A surprise heightened their worries job creation position in April, employers reported a record number of job offers to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are more people earning more unemployment than if they could take a job, but I think that’s a bet that’s the only reason some businesses have trouble hiring.

The Covid crisis forced the federal government terribly spread its safety net, from managing the spread of vaccines to spending trillions of dollars on incentives. Republicans say it’s time to call it quits, starting with unemployment insurance.

In an attempt to encourage people to return to work, more than 20 Republican governors have moved to eliminate federal increases in their state unemployment insurance schemes before they expire.

More than half of Americans support a reduction in unemployment benefits poll Found by Quinnipiac University. Workers and workers ’advocates say what the economy really needs is safer jobs and higher wages, and economists say that paying attention to unemployment benefits forgets the real reasons many people return to work.

A poll 26% of the 2,000 people who worked in restaurant kitchens made by the company Mis en Place have left the industry permanently. Some mentioned long hours and relatively low wages.

A third of the staff surveyed at Mise en Place said they intended to return, but had not yet done so for various reasons. Some said they were still looking for the right option or were worried about hiring Covid-19. Only 6 percent mentioned unemployment benefits and stimulus controls.

Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco last summer found that the federal allowance, then $ 600, would prevent a few unemployed workers from accepting a new job. The current $ 300 charging benefit they are likely to have little impact on companies ’ability to find employees, they found.

It’s unclear how successful it will be to cut additional benefits when people return to work, says Josh Bivens, research director at the left-wing Institute for Economic Policy.

“These have become much more desirable jobs because of the pandemic,” Bivens says. “If someone has to show up at a restaurant that is quite crowded, maybe they still don’t feel very well and I think that’s pretty rational.”

States that are cutting federal unemployment benefits saw a temporary rise in job searches after the initial announcement, according to the Job Indeed. However, it exploded in search activity after a few days.

Entrepreneurs and some economists argue that benefits may be one of the factors that employees consider before taking a job.

“There are those who earn more in unemployment than if they could take a job, but I think that’s a bet that’s the only reason some businesses have trouble hiring,” says AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed. “We are still in a pandemic. Workers are still concerned about the state of public health.”

Konkel says childcare responsibilities will be a bigger factor for women, as they are the number of workers left behind by the pandemic and are employees of the leisure and hospitality business.

Schools that returned to classroom teaching are ending in the summer and other facilities, such as summer camps and day centers, are working at a lower capacity.

Economists say reports of labor shortages are largely limited to the leisure and hospitality sector. According to BLS data, in other areas such as construction, arts, leisure and recreation, there are more than two job openers still looking for work.