TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Were some people content to collect unemployment instead of looking for work?
We’re about to see a test of that theory now that Governor Ducey’s brought back a requirement to collect unemployment that he had suspended because of COVID.
RELATED:
- Getting back to work: Resources for job seekers
- Unemployed in Arizona? How to prove you're looking for work
- Ducey rescinds order waiving job-seeking requirement for unemployment recipients
Bosses say they have been struggling to fill open positions, well now Governor Ducey has reinstated a pre COVID rule that says if you want to collect unemployment, you've got to prove you've been looking for a job.
Boca Tacos has been busy, and there’s been nobody busier than Owner Maria Mazon---besides being the chef behind the creations she serves---she’s been a server, she’s been bussing tables, she’s been washing dishes and says filling gaps in her staff, so she won’t have to do all that---has been...an experience.
“My experience or my nightmare. It's been, like, like everybody is out there you know it's a big thing. It's been hard. It's been hard to keep it, you know, to keep it open. And then, you know you struggle last year with COVID and then you never thought it was going to be get employees, but yeah, that's the case, I've been lucky, knock on wood, that I think I might have fulfilled my slots.”
She says she’s not so sure reinstating that look-for-work requirement will do much to bring in good applicants. She thinks some people will just fake the paperwork to make the state think they’ve been applying.
At one time, someone could collect as much as $840 a week in Federal and state unemployment. Now $540 is the max.
| Pima County Unemployment Stats |
- March 2021 unemployment rate 6.7%
- March 2020 unemployment rate was 5.%
- High was in April 2020 @ 13.9%
At The Temp Connection, owner Cindy Dhuey says those unemployment payments really did seem to turn workers into non-workers.
“I mean we weren't getting calls, we would put ads up, they would respond maybe but then a lot of times they wouldn't respond. So they didn't have to do anything for it. They could collect their money and stay home.”
But she says calls from job seekers started picking up as soon as they heard the Governor had reinstated the look-for-work requirement.
Dhuey says a lot of her clients are looking for people with bookkeeping skills but there’s hiring across the board for reliable workers ready to work hard and she says some employers are raising what they will pay to bring in good workers.
RELATED:
