WATCH: Jen Psaki Pushes Back On Doocy Over Extra Unemployment Depressing Jobs, Cites ‘Need To Pay A Livable Working Wage’
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pushed back on Fox News reporter Peter Doocy over the notion that extra unemployment benefits depressed job creation, citing several other factors which included vaccination rates and the “need to pay a livable wage.”
At Monday’s daily briefing, Doocy noted the lower-than-expected jobs report for last month, noting “employment only rose by about 266,000 jobs in April out of 7.4 million or so job openings,” and asking “How does the White House know that people are just choosing not to apply for jobs because the extra unemployment benefits are so good?”
Psaki told Doocy that the administration doesn’t “see much evidence that the extra unemployment insurance is a major driver in people not rejoining the workforce,” and added that “the data and our analysis shows that lack of vaccination, the lower rate — which is why I referred to the data in the week that it was taken — it has an impact. Childcare has an impact. Schools reopening has an impact.”
“But there is also the need to pay a livable working wage, and that’s one of the reasons the President will talk about that this afternoon,” Psaki said.
Citing an analysis that shows “anybody making less than $32,000 a year is better off financially just taking the unemployment benefits,” Doocy asked “Is the White House creating an incentive just to stay home?”
Psaki replied that the “majority of economists, internally and externally of the White House” don’t think the extra UI is “a major driver in our unemployment data; that there are other factors — bigger factors — that were contributing — have been contributing to the numbers we saw on Friday.”
Doocy also asked about comments that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo made over the weekend, asking “The Commerce Secretary says the main reason that people are staying home is fear. How does the White House know that people are scared? What is that based on?”
Psaki replied that Raimondo was referring to the “much lower vaccination rate just a month ago.”
“And that people are fearful about getting sick. They are fearful about whether they’re going to have the conditions to be healthy — whether they can send their kids to a childcare center, whether there is a childcare center. So those are all factors that are consistent with the examples and reasons I just provided,” Psaki said.
Watch above via Fox News.
