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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she would introduce a bill to reinstate federal unemployment benefits programs that expired last week, despite a lack of appetite to do so among many of congressional Democrats, Bloomberg News reported. “I’ve been very disappointed on both sides of the aisle that we’ve just simply allowed pandemic unemployment assistance to completely lapse when we are clearly not fully recovered from the cost effects of the pandemic,” the New York Democrat said during a virtual town hall on Tuesday evening. Millions of Americans saw their federal benefits end on Sept. 6. Three programs expired that day, one that allotted an extra $300 in weekly unemployment assistance, another that provided benefits to workers who otherwise would not qualify and a third that gave aid to those who remain unemployed but have run out of state benefits. Officials in 26 states previously opted out of the unemployment benefits program before the expiration. Advocates for withdrawal argued it would encourage unemployed Americans to return to the workforce. Democrats debated whether to extend the benefits, but ultimately opted not to do so. House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, said President Joe Biden’s position was to “hold off” until there was more evidence.

Massive government relief passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic moved millions of Americans out of poverty last year, even as the official poverty rate increased slightly, according to a Census Bureau report yesterday, the Associated Press reported. The official poverty measure rose 1 percentage point in 2020, with 11.4% of Americans living in poverty, or more than 37 million people. It was the first increase in poverty after five consecutive annual declines. But the Census Bureau’s supplemental measure of poverty, which takes into account government benefit programs and stimulus payments, showed that the share of people in poverty dropped significantly after the aid was factored in. The supplemental poverty measure was 2.6 percentage points lower than its pre-pandemic level in 2019. Stimulus payments moved 11.7 million people out of poverty, while expanded unemployment benefits kept 5.5 million from falling into poverty. Social Security continued to be the nation’s most effective anti-poverty program.

Businesses around the world want to hire but face a similar dilemma: attracting workers, Bloomberg News reported. A survey of nearly 45,000 employers across 43 countries showed 69% of employers reported difficulty filling roles, a 15-year high, according to employment-services provider ManpowerGroup Inc. At the same time, 15 countries — focused in Europe and North America — reported their highest hiring intentions since the survey began in 1962. Businesses across all surveyed countries reported stronger hiring outlooks for the end of this year compared to the final three months of 2020. “Continued talent shortages mean many businesses are prioritizing retaining and training workers with the skills they need to succeed as the economic recovery continues,” Jonas Prising, chief executive officer of ManpowerGroup, said in a statement. About 40% of respondents said they offer training and skills development to attract and retain talent. A similar share reported offering flexible work schedules. Nearly a third increased wages. Others offered signing bonuses and more vacation time.

The Biden administration said most federal employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than Nov. 22 as it drafts rules to require large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly, Reuters reported. President Joe Biden last week signed an executive order requiring federal employees who work in the Executive Branch to be fully vaccinated with certain limited exceptions. In guidance to federal agencies posted on a federal website on Monday, the Biden administration said agencies should move "expeditiously so that their employees are fully vaccinated as quickly as possible and by no later than November 22." In July, Biden said that federal workers had to get vaccinated or face regular COVID-19 testing, along with other safety rules such as mandatory face covering at workplaces and restrictions on official travel.

Before supply chain breakdowns and shortages swept the world in the wake of the COVID pandemic, buying the bits and pieces for an assembly line was often as easy as clicking a button and waiting a few days or, at most, a few weeks for delivery. Not anymore as shortages of metals, plastics, wood and even liquor bottles are now the norm, Reuters reported. The upshot is a world where buyers must wait for delivery of items that were once plentiful, if they can get them at all. Along with the shortages come hefty price increases, which has fueled fears of a wave of sustained inflation. There’s growing tension among Federal Reserve policymakers over how to gauge the long-term impact on prices. Some Fed policymakers are more convinced than others that price pressures will recede after some of the supply chain disruptions are resolved. How this debate evolves could influence how quickly the Fed moves to reduce the pace of asset purchases launched at the start of the pandemic, and how soon it lifts the policy interest rate from its current level near zero. 

President Biden announced sweeping new vaccine mandates yesterday that will affect tens of millions of Americans, ordering all businesses with more than 100 employees to require their workers to be inoculated or face weekly testing, the Washington Post reported. Biden also will require all health facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid funding to vaccinate their workforces, which the White House believes will impact 50,000 locations. And the president plans to sign an executive order that would require all federal employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus — without an option for those who prefer to be regularly tested instead — in an effort to create a model he hopes state governments and private companies will adopt. The White House released an 11-page memo Thursday entitled “Path Out of the Pandemic” that outlined six key areas where Biden is either shifting or hardening his strategy on the virus. The most far-reaching is a new regulation to be written by the Labor Department that will requires all businesses with more than 100 employees either to mandate vaccinations for all their workers, or require them to take weekly coronavirus tests. The White House estimates that the policy will impact about 80 million workers, or two-thirds of the country’s workforce.

U.S. job openings raced to a new record high in July while layoffs rose moderately, suggesting last month's sharp slowdown in hiring was due to employers being unable to find workers rather than weak demand for labor, Reuters reported. The Labor Department's monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Wednesday also showed a steady increase in the number of workers voluntarily quitting their jobs, a sign of confidence in the labor market. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, jumped 749,000 to 10.9 million on the last day of July, the highest level since the series began in December 2000. It was the fifth straight month that job openings, which have been increasing since January, hit a record high. Job openings rose in the Northeast, South, Midwest and West regions. The job openings rate surged to a record 6.9% from 6.5% in June, driven by medium-sized businesses with 50-249 workers. The rate for large firms with 5,000 or more employees fell. Hiring slipped 160,000 to 6.7 million, pulled down by decreases in retail trade, durable goods manufacturing and educational services. State and local government education hiring increased, as did federal government employment. The hiring rate fell to 4.5% from 4.7% in June. The hires rate dropped for large businesses.