Oklahoma, Indiana and Texas are the latest Republican-led states to say they'll prematurely cut off the more generous unemployment benefits next month.
The big picture: The money has kept millions of Americans afloat while the pandemic took a historic toll on the economy. The states' governors say slimmed-down payments will help with widespread reports of worker shortages in their states.
The backdrop: New jobless applications hit yet another pandemic-era low, Labor Department data out today shows.
- The number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment across various programs fell to 16 million — also a pandemic-era low.