BOISE, Idaho – Starting on June 19, unemployed Idahoans will not receive the $300 weekly payment from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.Idaho Governor Brad Little announced the ending of the program on Tuesday. Gov. Little citing the decision was made due to employers struggling to recruit new employees.“Employers are telling me one of the big reasons they cannot recruit and retain some workers is because those employees are receiving more on unemployment than they would while working,” Governor Little said. “My decision is based on a fundamental conservative principle – we do not want people on unemployment. We want people working. A strong economy cannot exist without workers returning to a job.”Last week, 6,493 Idahoans filed for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, according to the Idaho Department of Labor. The preliminary unemployment report from April shows 28,815 Idahoans do not have jobs.Additionally, Gov. Little is ending multiple other programs.The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that benefits those who would not usually qualify for unemployment, such as the self-employed, will end along with the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation that extends benefits once regular benefits have been exhausted.Gov. Little’s announcement follows in the footsteps of who announced the ending of the weekly unemployment payments due to worker shortages.Montana’s program ends on June 27.Roughly 25,000 Montanans are filing unemployment claims. According to the Montana Department of Labor., there around 14,000 job openings in the state.
