The $1,200 workforce incentive program intended to replace the federal government’s enhanced individual unemployment benefits didn’t turn out to help many Oklahomans.

Eight out of 10 applicants were rejected for various reasons, according to an analysis by Tulsa World reporter Curtis Killman.

The Return to Work program grew out of a belief that laid-off workers were not returning to the labor force because the federal government was temporarily providing $300 on top of their regular unemployment benefits. It cynically assumed that workers were lazy, a notion about Oklahomans we reject.

Gov. Kevin Stitt joined other Republican governors across the country in turning away the benefits early. They were set to end last September.

In its place, Oklahoma launched the incentive program in June, but it had narrow eligibility. At the time, about 90,000 Oklahomans were receiving the added federal benefits. Only 8,000 workers received a grant from the state’s program.

Grants of $1,200 were available to Oklahoma residents who received unemployment benefits during at least one of the first two weeks in May and subsequently worked six consecutive weeks on a new job. More than 50,000 applied, and about 80% of them were rejected.

Most were turned down because the applicants were not receiving unemployment benefits in that two-week window in May. Other problems were paperwork issues such as blurry paystub photos or information that did not match applicants’ pay stubs.

A lawsuit challenging the program was filed the month it began. In August, a district judge ordered the state to reinstate the federal benefits. The Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out the state’s appeal in February because the federal benefit program had ended.

We were never in favor of the program. It made assumptions about the workforce shortage and complicated a straight-forward federal program.

The state’s unemployment rate was always one of the lowest in the country and is currently tied for fifth-lowest.

In the past nine months, we’ve learned more about the workforce shortage. Early on, many potential workers were worried about COVID-19 spread. The virus surged when school resumed in the fall and the more contagious omicron variant took many workers temporarily out.

Retirements also play a key role, with baby boomers choosing to leave the labor force.

The Pew Research Center found the that increased retirements of older people during the pandemic recession is unlike that in other economic recession. This increase is significant because until COVID-19, adults ages 55 and older were the only working age population since 2000 to increase their labor force participation.

Other reasons include exacerbations of obstacles that existed before the pandemic, such as child care and transportation. We can no longer afford to let those needs go unaddressed if we want to expand the potential workforce.

Oklahoma workers are holding up their end, as shown by the continued low unemployment rate. The Return to Work incentive failed to meet expectations and promises made by state leaders.