Executives of employers at Denver International Airport were expecting 5,000 people to turn out for a four-hour job fair earlier this month, but they were sorely disappointed. Employers were hoping those 5,000 applicants would help them fill 1,000 vacancies, but instead, just 100 people showed up.
“We were expecting the masses to knocking on our door,” Derik Mortenson of Concessions International told a local television station. Concessions International has eight concessions at the Denver airport, including Chick-fil-A and Wetzel’s Pretzels.
Human resource director Elisa Lalama of Skyport Hospitality, a company that runs Shake Shack and Dunkin’ at the airport, said she was looking to hire more than 150 people. “We are at such a staffing deficit we’d be grateful for just five,” Lalama said.
Now that the federal government’s unemployment insurance benefits bonus has run out, many economists expected more people to enter the workforce this past month. Instead, employers told the Bureau of Labor and Statistics they have more than 10 million jobs unfilled — this at a time of near-record low working-age male labor force participation.
Why are so many people not looking for work?
It may have something to do with the fact that the bonus unemployment benefits were just one small part of the overall financial package that the federal government has been giving to everyone in America.
In addition to more than $10,000 in bonus unemployment benefits, a typical family of five received $3,900 in payments from the first COVID-19 relief bill, $3,000 from the second, and $7,000 from the third. Then, in addition to those payments, people are also now receiving monthly payments directly to their checking account that will total $9,000 ($3,000 per child) by the end of this year.
That comes to a $32,900 cushion to support those families that don’t want to send both parents back to work yet. And President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending plan would make those $3,000 yearly payments per child payments permanent.
Employers shouldn’t be surprised that no one wants to come back to work if the federal government keeps giving people free money.
