The Effects of Employment and Training Programs on Low-Income Workers' Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

Since the Great Recession, employment and training (E&T) programs are of growing interest given the labor market policy response to high and long-term patterns of unemployment. For low-income workers with low educational attainment and limited job skills, E&T programs are expected to play a vital role in improving their employability and enhancing long-term economic security.;Driven by human capital theory, this study examines the impacts of E&T programs on low-income workers' labor market outcomes during and after the Great Recession. Specific research questions are: 1) What is the effect of E&T programs on entry into employment; and if employed, 2) What are the effects of E&T programs on getting a job with employer-provided health insurance, full-time employment, and a higher paying job; and 3) What is the effect of E&T programs on maintaining that job?;The study utilizes the core data from wave 1 through 15 in the 2008 panel of Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) combined with monthly state unemployment rates obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A discrete-time hazard model is used to estimate the effect of E&T programs on entry into employment for 5,354 low-income individuals who experienced a first unemployment spell between 2008 and 2013. The study then limits the data to the subsample of 2,677 individuals who attained a job after their first spell of unemployment. With this subsample, the study estimates the E&T program effects on getting a quality job by using multivariate regression models and maintaining a job by using a discrete-time hazard model.;The major study findings reveal that E&T programs do not play a significant role for successful transition to work for low-income workers who experienced joblessness during and after the Great Recession: 1) E&T program participation while unemployed is associated with a reduced hazard of entry into employment. For those who attained a job after their first spell of unemployment; 2) E&T program participation while unemployed is not associated with getting a quality job in terms of three measures of job quality; and 3) E&T program participation while unemployed or employed is not associated with maintaining a job.;The study discusses inadequate public supports for E&T programs that potentially negatively affect the quality and intensity of services, which can account for unfavorable and insignificant employment outcomes. The study also addresses institutional and structural barriers that exacerbate labor market segmentation that may prohibit many low-income workers from benefiting from E&T programs. The role of E&T programs is explored for low-income workers whose employment challenges are not often conceived as a policy priority during a recession. This study contributes to and broadens our understanding of low-income workers' labor market experience during economic downturns and advances knowledge of the effectiveness of E&T programs from a social work perspective.