The $600 weekly boost to jobless benefits included in the CARES Act did little to discourage the unemployed from attempting to return to work, according to a study released yesterday by the JPMorgan Chase Research Institute, The Hill reported. Economists from JPMorgan Chase and the University of Chicago found no sustained increase in the number of people who returned to work after receiving unemployment benefits once the $600 weekly increase expired at the end of July. Just 3.7 percent of people that returned to work after the $600 boost expired likely did so because they’d be receiving less money in jobless benefits, the researchers said. More than half of workers who received the $600 weekly boost returned to work before it expired, raising further doubts that the extra benefit convinced people to stay unemployed, a common statement by some critics of the increased aid. “We find that the $600 supplement likely played little role in discouraging people from finding work. Rather, expanded UI boosted the spending and saving among jobless workers, many of whom are facing extended or repeated unemployment spells,” the researchers wrote.
