What is holding people back from returning to work? With all the job openings, why are people not applying? This past week while attending our Leadership Meeting, employers can't understand why it is so hard to hire people? Over 50 companies attended the meeting, and each feels the same way. People are not applying for jobs due to the unemployment benefits people are receiving. Here are 4 Reasons why people are not returning back to work.

*This Part is Copied from Business Insider!

1. Unemployment benefits are a disincentive

President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan included weekly $300 unemployment benefits through September 6 to help Americans struggling financially during the pandemic. While many lawmakers and Americans lauded this provision as a form of much-needed pandemic relief, some experts have argued that these benefits might actually discourage unemployed workers from returning to the labor force.

Toby Malara, government affairs counsel at the American Staffing Association, told Insider in February that while unemployment have been "paramount" in helping people during the pandemic, it's important to find a balance that doesn't disincentivize people from returning to work.

We began to see that some employees were in a position where they were literally making four, five sometimes $6 an hour more on UI (unemployment insurance) with the pandemic bonus," Malara said. "It did not make sense for them to go back to work."

In other words, if unemployment benefits are too generous, workers may not go back to work because they are making more money simply from government aid.

(2) COVID-19 health concerns

To date, 565,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19, so it's no surprise that the possibility of contracting a deadly disease would discourage people from going back to work. But vaccinations can help with this.

Insider reported on Friday that as more vaccine shots go into arms, consumer sentiment is the strongest it's been in a year, and half of surveyed consumers said they expected unemployment rates to decline. These responses were mainly driven by optimism surrounding the stimulus and the accelerating vaccination rate.

The New York Times noted that it's easier for a person to have health concerns and stay out of the work force when unemployment benefits are generous.

(3) At-home care is still needed

The Census Household Pulse survey found that the main reason adults can't return to the workforce is because they still need to stay at home with their kids while they take online classes. According to the late March surveys, 6.3 million people were not working because they had to take care of their children at home, and 2.1 million more people were at home caring for an older person.

Biden's infrastructure plan might help change that. The $2.3 trillion plan unveiled two weeks ago included $400 billion toward home and community care for the elderly and disabled; it's set to be joined by a second plan that is likely to be unveiled this month and will include more care-economy measures, like spending to increase women's participation in the work force.

(4) Workers are holding out for higher wages

To account for financial struggles, large US companies have publicly raised their minimum wages during the past few years. Costco recently raised its minimum wage to $16 an hour, and Target and Amazon have raised their wages to $15 an hour — a wage that many Democratic lawmakers want to become the federal standard.

But these big companies raising their wages place difficulties on workers in service industries. For example, tipped workers, like waiters and bartenders, could easily lose a whole day of earnings if bad weather shuts down outdoor dining, which could cause them to consider switching industries for a steadier income.

Biden's infrastructure plan proposed eliminating the subminimum wage, which would ensure that service workers won't have to rely on tips.

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