Gov. Andy Beshear is offering a one-time, $1,500 bonus to entice thousands of unemployed Kentuckians to accept jobs. He presented it Thursday as an alternative to ending enhanced jobless benefits that Republicans and businesses blame for a workforce shortage. The governor says the first 15,000 Kentuckians who qualify and return to work by July 30 will receive the payment.
He says Kentucky will draw $22.5 million from federal virus-relief funds to pay for the incentive. Beshear says he’s not foreclosing any possibility in tackling the problem, including an early cutoff of the $300 in extra weekly federal unemployment payments.