Alex DeCroce told audience of business owners the unemployed are content to collect $550 a week
Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, shown in a 2007 file photo, says residents collecting $550 a week in unemployment might not be motivated to look for work.TRENTON — Democrats who control the Senate and Assembly are demanding an apology from the Assembly Republican leader after he said New Jersey's jobless benefits offer no incentive for the unemployed to return to work.
Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver say the 9.2 percent of New Jerseyans who are jobless are eager to return to the work force.
Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce told an audience of business owners Tuesday the unemployed are content to collect $550 a week.
Sweeney called the comment "cruel" to people who are losing their homes to foreclosure because of prolonged unemployment.
Oliver says DeCroce's remarks are insulting to out-of-work residents.
The Morris County assemblyman could not be reached for comment.
Previous coverage:
• N.J. GOP assemblyman suggests reducing jobless benefits as incentive for unemployed to find work
• U.S. Labor Department reports lowest jobless claims in more than 2 years