If the federal governments efforts to help the economy are actually hurting it, as Republicans have been claiming, the best available data isnt corroborating that theory.

Employers added 559,000 jobs in May, continuing months of gains as vaccination rates go up and businesses reopen. The numbers fell a bit short of economists projections, but were a decent rebound after the previous months disappointing report. Despite missing expectations, the May number is still a bigger monthly jobs gain than the economy had seen in decades before the pandemic.

Aprils jobs report fueled complaints from employers and Republicans, who said that the extra $300 per week Congress added to state unemployment benefits prevented people from taking jobs.

But Mays numbers simply do not reflect the narrative that robust unemployment benefits have halted economic recovery, Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moodys, told HuffPost.

Concerns that supplemental unemployment insurance would significantly impair the ability of businesses to fill open positions are significantly overdone, Zandi said. This is playing a role in slowing when workers take open jobs, but it is a minor role.