Current law limits adults to three months of food stamps within a three-year period unless they work or are in a work training program for at least 20 hours per week. But states have often gotten waivers from the time-limit rule in areas lacking enough jobs. The new guidelines would make it harder for states to get those exemptions by raising the minimum unemployment rate in waived counties to 6%. The rule would apply only to able-bodied adults without dependents, so families, the elderly, pregnant women and disabled people are excluded from the rule change. Additionally, measuring the overall unemployment rate doesn’t accurately gauge how many jobs are available for low-wage workers, the organization said.

Source: Forbes December 04, 2019 23:03 UTC