In-person events are starting up again. Schools are resuming face-to-face instruction. Families are visiting each other for the first time in a long time, and businesses are moving back to normal operations.
It would appear that we’re emerging from the dark valley of the pandemic and its depressing effects on the economy. By the look of things, one would assume we’re approaching the summit and can see a return to normal on the horizon.
This is all the more so now that the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced that the state will no longer accept the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (a $300 weekly bonus) as of June 12.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s decision that Alaska will no longer pay its citizens to stay home is welcome news. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of job openings in the U.S. recently hit a record high of eight million. In a normal year, we’d be celebrating this incredible growth and the opportunities available to workers.
