WATERTOWN â Unemployment benefits in the state seem like an unspoken elephant in the room that business owners say has contributed heavily to a dip in employees.
âHelp Wantedâ signs have been peppering the fronts of businesses across the north country in recent weeks, which is the result of not only the summer season approaching.
While economic experts point to a number of factors â issues with childcare, for example â as the driver of it all, they believe some business owners in the north country, that unemployed people are riding out their enhanced benefits by finding loopholes during the pandemic.
Congress had approved an additional $600 a week from March 2020 through the end of the year. Regular benefits are capped with an additional $300 a week until September. Itâs enough to limit incentive and undercut motivation, according to these business owners.