Huntington Herald-Dispatch – To slow the spread of the virus no one in the world has immunity to, thousands of West Virginians had to lose their jobs. Read full article here.
Now, as people head back to work, some low-earning West Virginians are realizing they may have been better off without a job.
The federal government has been providing an additional $600 to each unemployment check since April. In West Virginia, the average unemployment check is $312 a week. With the added funds, there have been reports across the country of people making more money on unemployment, leaving some choosing not to return to their jobs. Justice even mentioned it recently during a press briefing.
Sean O’Leary, senior policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said he has anecdotally heard some employers say they are having a hard time getting people to return to work, but he hasn’t seen any data to show it is a real concern. Plus, West Virginia continues to see around 4,000 new unemployment claims each week, which is three to four times the normal weekly amount and comparable to the worst weeks of the Great Recession, so people are still losing jobs, he said.
