Congressman Guest Calls for Action to Increase Hiring Rates

Press Release

Today, Congressman Michael Guest (MS-03) called for Congress to address the reduced hiring rates in the United States by ending Federal supplemental unemployment payments. Over 20 states, including Mississippi, have announced they will opt out of the program as early as June 12th. These moves come as businesses struggle to find employees due to the government's paying individuals more to stay home than to work in some cases.

With federal benefits and state unemployment, unemployed Americans are eligible to receive up to $17.17 an hour based on a 40-hour work week, more than double the Federal minimum wage and about 10 percent more than the median income of wage and salary workers.

Below is a transcript of Congressman Guest's speech:

Former President Ronald Reagan once said that "the best social program is a job." Job creation and growing our economy are bipartisan issues that benefit all Americans. This past year, we saw the impact that COVID had on our businesses both large and small; but now as we are reopening the economy, many employers are unable to find workers to keep up with the high demand for goods and services. A major roadblock to businesses' being able to hire staff comes from the Federal supplemental unemployment payments made on top of the unemployment already provided by the states. These payments have caused many potential employees to continuing collecting unemployment from the government rather than reentering the workforce. Thankfully, many Republican Governors, including Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, have ordered the end of the Federal supplemental unemployment payments now that the economy is open. As a Congress, we need to follow the example of Mississippi and other states and bring this program to a close as more Americans find it possible to return to normal life.

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