Governor Abbott Announces End to Federal Pandemic-Related Unemployment Benefits
Recently the Frisco Chamber of Commerce shared a survey with our business community from the Texas Association of Business (TAB) and Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives (TCCE).
In the response to this survey, 80% of respondents called for an end to the $300 per week unemployment supplement.
As a result, the Texas Association of Business published a letter calling for Governor Greg Abbott to end the additional unemployment supplement. The Frisco Chamber of Commerce signed this letter in an effort to support our local businesses. You can see the whole letter here.
On Monday, May 17, 2021, in a press release, Governor Greg Abbott announced he had informed the U.S. Department of Labor that Texas will opt out of further federal unemployment compensation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective June 26, 2021. This includes the $300 weekly unemployment supplement from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.
“The Texas economy is booming and employers are hiring in communities throughout the state,” said Governor Abbott. “According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the number of job openings in Texas is almost identical to the number of Texans who are receiving unemployment benefits. That assessment does not include the voluminous jobs that typically are not listed, like construction and restaurant jobs. In fact, there are nearly 60 percent more jobs open (and listed) in Texas today than there was in February 2020, the month before the Pandemic hit Texas.”
Read the full press release here.
TAB/TCCE Return to Work Survey
Here are the results of that survey:
TAB Survey Shows Businesses Struggling to Hire Workers
The Texas Association of Businesses (TAB), in conjunction with local chambers of commerce, recently conducted a survey among its business members to determine whether they are struggling to find workers as they reopen. While unscientific, these results show a concerning trend among Texas businesses.
Of the 177 businesses surveyed:
- 48% have 1-5 positions currently available
- 11% have 6-10 positions available
- 11% have 20 or more available positions
- 21% say they do not currently have any available positions.
The overwhelming majority of these businesses cited the $300 per week federal supplement workers are receiving as the reason they are unable to fill their job openings.
We thank all of our businesses who participated in this survey. The information you provided is valuable not only to TAB and TCCE but also, to the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and the North Texas business community.
Advocating for your business
The Frisco Chamber of Commerce will continue to work with other entities and our legislators to continue to protect the best interests of our business community.
Other Resources
If you are hiring staff, please continue to utilize our job bank, and consider posting a paid internship on our website.
