Economists warn unemployment could be an issue for years

While the $1,400 stimulus checks under the American rescue plan will help millions of Americans, it won't fix current unemployment numbers. While millions of jobs have been restored since the worst of the recession last April, there are still millions more workers unemployed than there were before the pandemic. The economy is recovering and stock markets are strong, but economists warn that it could take until 2024 for employment to fully recover.

Class discussion: Does it mean much to a jobless worker if stock prices are high or the gross domestic product is rising rapidly? Who gains when the stock markets soar? How long should a worker receive unemployment benefits after being laid off? Why do workers in one state get a couple hundred dollars a week in unemployment benefits while workers in another state get more than a thousand dollars in weekly benefits? Can you say the economy has recovered if unemployment is still high?