Confronted With Twin Unhappy Economic Realities, White House Chief of Staff Offers Reassurances
"We think the states have the resources they need to move people from unemployment to employment,” Ron Klain says
The American people, and the Biden administration, are getting hit by two separate pieces of bad economic news.
The first arrived last week, when the federal government disappointed experts by reporting that the US economy added the least number of new jobs in August than at any time since January.
The second hit Monday when the federal government's supplemental unemployment benefits authorized by Congress expire.
The expiration of those benefits particularly will leave the long-term unemployed and so-called gig workers who can't qualify for other benefits with nowhere to turn.
The economy, however, are prepared, according to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
“We’re at the lowest unemployment rate we have seen in this country in a year and a half, 5.2 percent. We’ve added jobs every single month we’ve been here,” he said. “The states were given money as part of the rescue plan back in March to deal with the consequences of any economic dislocation due to COVID,” he added, referring to the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress.
“States are using that money in different ways. One of those ways is employment bonuses, paying people to take jobs. Other states are providing employment training, employment counseling,” he added. “... And we think that the states have the tools they need to help people move from unemployment to employment.
“We have more unfilled jobs in this country than at any time on the record of measuring unfilled jobs. So we think the jobs are there, and we think the states have the resources they need to move people from unemployment to employment,” Klain said.
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