Iowa Capital Dispatch
The solution to Iowa s worker shortage isn t cutting off pandemic-related unemployment assistance. (Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash)
James Kennedy, a Mount Vernon musician, said the end of Iowa’s federal unemployment benefits feels almost like “blackmail.”
“This decision … to withdraw literally forces people to go back to work in a very unsafe environment,” Kennedy said. “I find that very life-threatening.”
Kennedy and his wife, Catherine Lawson-Kennedy, lead the Heart Consort Music group. Before the pandemic, they taught music lessons to nearly 30 students, performed concerts several times a month and rented out a recording studio to local artists.
Chris Diebel was at Bubba – Southern Comforts restaurant helping seat guests when a person approached him about applying for a job.
It was 5:45 p.m. on a
Iowa s restaurant industry shows resiliency through pandemic yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
More than 66,000 job openings are listed through Workforce Development.
As businesses start to reach the “light at the end of the tunnel” and fully reopen as COVID-19 wanes and restrictions ease, owners face a major hurdle hiring the staff they need to “get back to normal.”
Pandemic-related un