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Unemployment Insurance, Worker Power and the Recovery

Economic indicators show that the labor market is experiencing a period of rising wages and more job choices for workers as Americans continue to recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that the scale of the impact of government programs like Unemployment Insurance (UI) on the timing of workers’ return to work is small to negligible. Real-time evidence and broad academic consensus suggest that the labor market is returning to its pre-pandemic tightness, countering claims by proponents of a “labor shortage.” Before the pandemic, wages were rising and workers had more choices for jobs that fit their skills and needs as the labor market tightened.

Read the issue brief here.