NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) -- Tennessee workers idled by the pandemic lose their extra $300 a week in federal unemployment aid in less than two weeks.
State labor officials report that during the past week just over 50,000 Tennesseans received unemployment checks. Will those workers rush back to their old jobs once the federal benefits end?
Lipscomb economist Dr. Andy Borchers says the bonus federal aid is likely just one of several reasons furloughed workers seem reluctant to return to their jobs as the pandemic winds down.
Borchers notes some employees are still worried about contracting the virus. Others can’t find childcare.
He says some have long since moved to jobs in other industries. Still others are no longer qualified for their old jobs because the pandemic has changed the way their company operates.
Tennessee employers continue to furlough and lay off workers. State data notes that nearly 8,000 state residents filed initial unemployment claims this past week al;one. That's nearly four times the number of first time aid applications seen in a typical week before the pandemic began.
