How new plan could give Americans a 'bonus’ for returning to work

Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus joins Kristin Myers to discuss how lawmakers could change weekly unemployment checks, including a “bonus” for those who find work.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: Welcome back to Yahoo Finance. Well, as coronavirus continues to cause millions of Americans to file for unemployment benefits, I'm sure that many will be upset to find that that extra $600 boost to that unemployment check might be going away. We have Yahoo Finance's Sibile Marcellus with that story now.

SIBILE MARCELLUS: There's tons of concern right now about what the next phase of coronavirus fiscal stimulus is going to actually look like. We had the $1,200 stimulus checks plus the additional $600 per week, which many businesses have complained about, saying that it disincentived workers to come back and receive less money from them when they're getting more money off unemployment.

Now, a new idea that was floated by Republicans is to actually give a bonus to people when they go back to work, $450 per week once you start a new job. But there are challenges with that idea because we're seeing an unemployment rate that's already elevated. The congressional budget office said it's going to be 11.7% in the fourth quarter. So the issue is finding jobs not so much getting people bonuses when they have it.

So we're going to keep monitoring this and see what Washington is able to come up with. What we do know is that the more than 40 million Americans who lost their jobs since mid-March do need more help.

KRISTIN MYERS: All right. Thanks so much, Sibile.