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Many governors have cited the federal unemployment $300 benefit as a reason that businesses in their state are unable to hire workers, and new data shows just a handful of states that have ended their participation in the program have unemployment rates above the national average.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that just six out of the 26 states that have announced that they would terminate their participation in the federal unemployment program have unemployment rates that exceed the national average of 5.9% (as of June).
Those states included Mississippi, which had an unemployment rate of 6.2% and announced on June 12 that it would end the federal plus-up benefit; Arizona, where the unemployment rate was 6.8%; Alaska, with a jobless rate of 6.6%; Texas at 6.5%; Maryland at 6.2% and Louisiana, with an unemployment rate of 6.9%.
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The remaining 20 states that have decided to end the additional unemployment benefit had unemployment rates equal to or lesser than the national average, including Georgia, West Virginia, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Florida and Nebraska.
The unemployment rate does not include people who have not searched for jobs in the past four weeks, but rising vaccination rates and falling unemployment measures have encouraged Republican governors to end the benefit.
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The American Rescue Plan, which passed in March, extended the additional $300 federal benefit on top of what was already provided by states.
Many Republican governors have alleged that the additional cash prevented unemployed individuals from reentering the labor market.
As previously reported by FOX Business, Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said the federal benefit was "an incentive for people not to work," slowing both employees’ return to work and job creation.
On the other hand, proponents say that some workers are unable to return to jobs just yet due to fear of falling ill or difficulty accessing child care.
The federal benefit is scheduled to expire in September.
FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.