In Indiana, the enhanced unemployment has meant that the jobless collected a maximum weekly benefit of $990, and now get up to $690—the equivalent of $24.75 an hour and $17.25, respectively. (The first $10,200 in unemployment compensation is exempt from federal income tax under this year’s Covid relief law.) Ms. Phelps is struggling to compete with what the government offers: “It’s making people terribly lazy. It’s making people not want to be part of the workforce. And that’s not good when the unemployment numbers are where they are”—3.9% in Indiana and 6% nationwide in March. Ms. Phelps says she has watched in dismay as some of her daycare children’s parents have given up on seeking a job, and she says the enhanced unemployment has also made it tougher to be an employer. Workers slack off or make audacious demands. If they don’t get what they want, “they’ll quit on you, and then they’ll try to go get unemployment.” The BLS reports that some 3.4 million Americans quit their jobs in February. Under last year’s Covid-relief legislation, workers who leave voluntarily are still eligible for federal enhanced unemployment, University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan notes... Eric Silverstein owns two restaurants and a catering company in Texas, where the jobless rate was 6.9% in March. “In my eyes, there’s no unemployment,” he says. “It’s not a thing right now. Anyone who wants a job can get one today—in like an hour.” Before the pandemic, he would get as many as 15 applications for an open cook position. “Now, we might get three.” He’s looking to hire as many as 22 people.