Did cutting unemployment benefits lead to more employment?

Under the covid relief bill passed last March, unemployment benefits were increased by $300 per week.  Although this improves the living standard for the unemployed, it does create an incentive to delay returning to work, especially for those who earn more from unemployment benefits than they would from working.  

Employers in many sectors of the economy faced labor shortages, so the supplemental benefits became a political hot potato.  In June 22 states dropped the $300 supplement. 

A new study by economists at four universities were able to get detailed data on 19 of those 22 states.  They found that 1.1m people had their benefits reduced and that by early August only 13% of them had found jobs.  Other recent studies cited in this NYT piece find similar conclusions.  

The $300 supplement ends on September 6.  Based on these studies, we should not expect a big drop in the number of vacant positions or a big increase in employment.