Mississippi to end additional federal unemployment benefits in June

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Gov. Tate Reeves has announced that Mississippi will be the next state to opt out of additional federal unemployment benefits.

Mississippi follows in the path of Alabama, Arkansas, Montana and South Carolina, who have also opted out of the additional benefits.

Reeves stated that these benefits may have been necessary in May of last year, but that they are no longer necessary now. The additional benefits will end on June 12, 2021.

The governor has also directed MDES to prioritize pre-pandemic enforcement of all eligibility requirements for any individual to receive unemployment benefits under state law.

“Mississippi is open for business!” the governor stated.

Though many have blamed these additional benefits for April’s slumping employment numbers, President Joe Biden recently said that he saw now correlation between the two.

“We’re still digging out of an economic collapse that cost us 22 million jobs,” Biden said Friday.