Chamber Members:

It’s job report day and the “skinny” proposal was voted on.  See the results of both below. Also, Governor Pritzker makes an announcement about Covid response jobs.

Latest on the Unemployment Scene
New weekly claims for unemployment benefits stayed flat last week when adjusted for seasonal factors, but rose by more than 20,000 on an unadjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Thursday. In the week ending Sept. 5, the number of seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 884,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level of applications.

Without adjustments for seasonal factors, claims rose 857,148 in the week ending Sept. 5, a 2.4 percent increase from the previous week’s 837,000 claims. Claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program meant to cover workers excluded from traditional jobless benefits, also rose to 838,916 last week, an increase of roughly 91,000 applications from the previous week.

Some economists attribute the lack of decline in unemployment claims to the July 31 expiration of enhanced jobless benefits and other fiscal aid that helped keep consumer demand high, thereby helping businesses stay afloat.

While the unemployment rate dropped from 10.2 percent in July to 8.4 percent in August, the number of people receiving some form of jobless benefits increased by 300,000 in the week ending Aug. 22. Through the week of August 22, there were 29.6 million individuals receiving some form of unemployment benefits.

Senate Democrats Block Republican Covid Relief Proposal
Senate Democrats blocked a scaled-down, $500 billion Republican coronavirus relief measure Thursday, weakening the chances that Congress will approve another package before the November election.

Fifty-two out of the 53-member GOP caucus voted in favor of moving forward on the proposal, a win for Senate Republican leadership after weeks of internal division, but 60 votes were needed for the bill to advance, and no Senate Democrats voted for the measure, dismissing it as a political stunt.

Thursday’s vote may be the final chance for congressional leaders and the White House to forge a compromise on an economic stimulus bill. High-level negotiations have gone nowhere. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, one of the White House’s chief negotiators, cast doubt this week on whether Congress would pass another coronavirus relief package. He instead seemed focused on making sure that federal agencies remain open past the Sept. 30 funding deadline rather than cutting a deal with Democrats.

Gov. Pritzker Announces $16 Million Investment to Connect Out of Work Illinoisans with 1,300 COVID-19 Response Jobs
Governor Pritzker announced a new $16.6 million investment to expand job opportunities for Illinoisans who have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through two new grants received from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will distribute funding to place, train and hire nearly 1,300 residents for an array of jobs related to the ongoing pandemic response.

The funding includes an $8.3 million grant from the federal Disaster Recovery Grant Program and an $8.3 million grant from the federal Employment Recovery Grant – both part of the National Dislocated Worker Program. The grants will provide out of work Illinoisans with training and employment in jobs that assist local disaster relief programs and industries in high demand amidst the pandemic. Funded positions include COVID-19 recovery-related temporary jobs to help mitigate COVID-19 in communities, such as contact tracers, COVID-19 protocol workers, building sanitization workers, temperature screeners, and food preparation and distribution workers identified by local communities.

DCEO will partner with local workforce agency partners to assist with filling roles in high need industry areas evolving as a result of COVID-19.  The 1,300 positions represent a mix of new and existing roles – with Disaster Recovery grants supporting contact tracers, community health coordinators, food distribution and emergency pantry workers, and COVID-19 custodians. Employment Recovery grant funds will be leveraged to seek out low-wage dislocated workers and provide vocational training and work-based learning that provides skills and competencies in expanding occupations and industries connected to the COVID-19 response.
Training and hiring for new workforce programs are expected to begin this fall, with the start time of each program varying by location. Participants will either undergo some form of training and/or receive supportive employment services, with many beginning jobs shortly after training is complete. Local workforce agencies will prioritize applicants impacted by layoff or termination during the COVID-19 crisis at the time of their application.

A full list of COVID-19 workforce training grantees as well as their program offerings is available on the DCEO website as well as Get Hired Illinois – the state’s one-stop-shop portal to connect Illinoisans with available training and hiring opportunities with growing industries during the COVID-19 crisis.

Deferral of Payroll Taxes Mandatory for Federal Workers
The Trump administration’s decision to require the deferral of payroll taxes for federal workers and military members is creating more divisions around the president’s attempt to provide short-term economic relief for workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

While many private sector employers are not expected to defer their employees’ Social Security payroll taxes under Trump’s order, the federal government is making it mandatory for its employees. Federal agencies have indicated that the deferral will apply to all eligible civilian employees and service members.

The federal government is the most prominent employer to announce it’s participating in the deferral, and the administration’s move to defer the payroll taxes of executive branch workers increases the impact of an action by Trump that may have little effect beyond government.
Under the IRS guidance implementing the memo, employers can choose to stop withholding the 6.2 percent employee-side Social Security tax through the end of the year from the paychecks of workers making less than $4,000 biweekly. Employers would then recoup the money by increasing the amount withheld from workers’ paychecks in the first few months of next year.

Business groups have said that many of their members are not planning to participate in the deferral, because companies don’t want to have a situation where their employees are receiving smaller than normal paychecks next year. But the federal government has announced that civilian federal employees and members of the military will see their Social Security taxes deferred. More than 1 million civilian federal employees are expected to be affected.

Stay well,

Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry Staff and Board of Directors


*Daily Coronavirus update brought to you by Silver Cross Hospital

Mike Paone
Vice President – Government Affairs
Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry
mpaone@jolietchamber.com
815.727.5371 main
815.727.5373 direct