Businesses Can’t Reach Consensus on Extending Extra Jobless Aid

The business lobby and management attorneys are divided over the best way to narrow the federal boost to unemployment insurance, just like Senate Republicans.

Generally, employers looking to scale-up operations want Congress to replace the $600 weekly benefits supplement that officially expires Friday with a less-generous amount to ensure people aren’t disincentivized from seeking work because they earn more on unemployment. But precisely how to accomplish that is where the management position breaks down into a complex, employer-specific debate about which of the proposals lawmakers are discussing is most workable.

“No consensus. No position. Mess,” a prominent Republican lobbyist for ...