Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines outside the Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19 in Frankfort, Ky.
John Sommers II | Getty Images file
Supplementary unemployment benefits are set to end without a clear plan on what will replace them. This news comes as unemployment claims are ratcheting back up. It’s estimated that 1 in 5 workers is collecting unemployment benefits.
The spread of COVID-19 has sharpened the focus on long standing economic inequality and stagnant wages. Before the pandemic, the number of Americans working “low wage” jobs was close to half. Those Americans experienced the largest share of job cuts, according to an early report from the Federal Reserve.
Monday at 9 a.m., MPR News guest host and senior economics contributor Chris Farrell will speak with two economists about unemployment and the path to an economic recovery.
Guests:
Jared Bernstein is a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. He previously served as chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden during the Obama administration.
Indivar Dutta-Gupta is co-executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.
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