Ending Covid Jobless Benefit Aided US Employment, Fed Study Says

Ending emergency unemployment benefits had a significant impact on boosting US employment, according to a new Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis working paper that may underline Republican criticism of a 2021 program.

The federal government provided enhanced unemployment benefits during the pandemic -- which propelled a loss of some 22 million jobs -- increasing eligibility to many individuals who would not otherwise be covered, boosting the amounts paid and extending their duration.

President Joe Biden maintained the beefed-up assistance in his March 2021 Covid-19 relief package, a move criticized by many Republicans as the job market by then ...