Missouri says with social distancing lifted, time to get off benefits and back to work

As the statewide social distancing order expired, Missouri’s top employment official said it was time for folks to get back to work, or at least start looking for it.

Anna Hui, director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said Tuesday that relying on unemployment benefits is no longer a viable option.

“We all know that a system that rewards individuals to be unemployed is unsustainable,” Hui said at Gov. Mike Parson’s afternoon news briefing.

Since March 28, eligible Missourians have been receiving an average weekly benefit of nearly $900, including a $600 federal supplement, Hui said.

She cited a recent University of Chicago study that found two-thirds of unemployment beneficiaries are receiving more than they were paid at their last job, and one in five are receiving at least twice as much.

Starting July 5, unemployed Missourians who wish to continue receiving benefits, including the $600 federal supplement available through July 25, will be required to perform and report three work search activities per week.

Work search requirements had temporarily been waived in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hui said search activities include applying for jobs online or in-person and attending job fairs and interviews.

“If an employer offers you suitable work and you’re thinking, ‘Well, I can just continue to collect unemployment,’ that is just not the case here,” Hui said.

“If, in fact, the department determines that you have been overpaid a benefit, you not only owe the baseline weekly amount, but also the $600 amount. That is debt that we are obligated to come and collect from you.”

Hui said many employers are reporting employees are hesitant to return to work, even when they can offer suitable working conditions.

“We do have several thousand employers who have already either been on the website or done some report of employees that they’ve offered suitable work to and are not returning,” Hui said.

This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Missouri says with social distancing lifted, time to get off benefits and back to work."