{"id":48728,"date":"2021-05-12T20:41:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T00:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=48728"},"modified":"2021-05-12T21:29:57","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T01:29:57","slug":"florida-department-of-economic-opportunity-is-warning-by-the-months-end-there-will-be-more-restrictions-for-people-to-qualify-for-unemployment-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2021\/05\/florida-department-of-economic-opportunity-is-warning-by-the-months-end-there-will-be-more-restrictions-for-people-to-qualify-for-unemployment-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is warning by the month\u2019s end, there will be more restrictions for people to qualify for unemployment benefits."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After multiple renewals, Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 “work search” waiver will expire May 29, followed by the expiration of the “work registration” waiver on June 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After May 29, individuals will have to prove they\u2019re actively applying for jobs by completing three to five weekly job searches, based on population of their county\u2019s residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who file new unemployment claims after June 26 will also have to register with Employ Florida for work search assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Florida has some of the lowest unemployment benefits in the nation (up to $275 per week for up to 12 weeks), many in Florida continue to receive benefits through a series of extended federal benefit programs, providing up to $300 per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That funding is set to end in September, although at least six state governors have said in recent days<\/a> they will, or are considering, ending federal unemployment benefits early to address a worker shortage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those states include Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, and North Dakota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this point, DEO executive director Dane Eagle told reporters Wednesday: \u201c\u2026We are monitoring and seeing what the other states are doing, and I won\u2019t take it completely off the table, but as of today, we\u2019re focused on this return to work initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eagle said Florida\u2019s new “Work Search Initiative” is meant to help people return to the workforce, as a growing number of business owners say they\u2019re finding it harder to hire people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some companies are now offering various incentives to even interview, many business owners remain convinced their struggle to hire workers is easily explained by a theory that people are earning more on unemployment than they would on the job<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnemployment benefits are higher than current minimum wage, so people through no fault of their own, as the governor said, they\u2019re availing themselves to the benefits made available to them. Why wouldn\u2019t they stay home? But that is not sustainable in today\u2019s market,\u201d said Eagle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUICK MATH: If a person were to receive combined state and federal benefits of $575 per week for 12 weeks, they could earn upwards of $6,900 \u2013 or $14.37 per hour, well above Florida\u2019s minimum wage rate of $8.56.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unemployment Advocate Vanessa Brito, however, says many Floridians are not getting the maximum benefits<\/a>, even as many struggle with the state\u2019s problem-plagued system that\u2019s holding benefit payments for weeks or months, in some cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just the $300 per week federal benefits comes out to $15,600 per year, or $7.50 per hour, below Florida\u2019s minimum wage rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brito said of the claims she\u2019s reviewed, the annual income from unemployment has ranged between $16,000 and $20,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eagle said Wednesday with a surplus of job openings, the state\u2019s economy cannot support mass openings going unfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmployers are trying to meet that demand, but struggling to do so because the market doesn\u2019t meet it,\u201d Eagle said. \u201cThe market today is saying we need to hire people, but we can\u2019t because unemployment benefits are too high. That\u2019s why we want return to work initiative to be understood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor advocates, including Paul Cox, president of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 631, say employers\u2019 real hiring struggle is due to low wages and few benefits being offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is pure supply and demand economics,\u201d Cox said. \u201cI don\u2019t know a single Floridian who wants to collect unemployment. They want to get back to work and do things they enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A review of Employ Florida\u2019s job database<\/a> shows many postings do not include salary or wage data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florida DEO says the state\u2019s current unemployment rate is 4.7%, below the national unemployment rate of 6.0%. DEO says the state has more than 400,000 job openings in a cross section of industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem may be more complex than just that though. Job seekers say they\u2019re struggling to find decent work with decent pay as much as employers say they\u2019re struggling to find workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applicants have shared accounts to Spectrum News of business owners interviewing for one job, but then offering another. Many also say businesses continue to offer wages that make it difficult to make ends meet, with few benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economists say the worker shortages could be the result of a mix of other things, in addition to wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n