When the COVID-19 pandemic plunged the economy back into recession in early 2020, it laid bare a fragile and profoundly inequitable labor market. The economic expansion that reigned from 2009 through 2019 brought historically low unemployment and inflation but failed to reduce income inequality or arrest the decline in the number of high-quality,…

We study how the employment effects of enterprise zones vary with their location, implementation, and administration, based on evidence from California. We use new establishment-level data and geographic mapping methods, coupled with a survey of enterprise zone administrators. Overall, the evidence indicates that enterprise zones do not increase…

In September 1985, the Canadian government introduced the Canadian Jobs Strategy. Two features distinguish the jobs strategy program from Canada's old job development programs and programs for purchasing job training from colleges. These features are: (1) focusing of federal support for labor market adjustment on those individuals who are most in…

This study analyzes the extent to which targeting objectives of the Emergency Jobs Programs Extension Act (EJPEA) of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs have been achieved by federal and local officials and the effectiveness of limited-duration projects in providing useful public services. The study deals with the…

Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), a program operating on funds from the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), was initiated at Arkansas State University in 1989. The 60-day program is targeted to economically disadvantaged 14- and 15-year-olds who are on grade level and have been identified as being likely to drop out of high school, but are not…

Describes rural implementation of the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities program, which combines flexible long-term financing with strategic planning and performance benchmarking to empower impoverished communities to address structural problems comprehensively. Impressive 3-year results include job creation; improved community services;…

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC) as observed between July 1980 and March 1981 in 25 areas throughout the United States. Findings include the following: (1) TJTC has not worked as envisioned as a self-marketing effort by vouchered individuals and new hires by employers; most employers are…

Forty-eight of the Exemplary In-School Demonstration Projects being conducted under Title IV, Part A of the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) of 1977 were analyzed to (1) provide an initial discussion of some of the basic aspects of the various strategies employed by the projects and (2) assess some of the fundamental…

This handbook illustrates and discusses organizational options for the delivery of employment and training services within service delivery areas (SDAs) mandated by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of 1982. Addressed primarily to members of private industry councils (PICs), representatives of local governments, and employment and training…

The Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects were set up to aid disadvantaged youths, ages 16 to 19, by guaranteeing them a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer months on the condition that they remain in, or return to, a secondary school or enroll in an equivalent education program. The program was started in…

At the end of September, 1978, 37,000 low-income youths in seventeen competitively selected communities across the country were enrolled in Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects which guaranteed them a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer months on the condition that they remain in, or return to, a secondary…

The Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 continues a long-standing federal commitment to help disadvantaged persons prepare to obtain employment. The legislation works primarily through a locally based program delivery system to provide remedial education, training, and employment assistance to low-income and long-term unemployed youth and adults.…

The seven major papers in this collection discuss the implications of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) (Public Law 97-300) of 1982 from the points of view of its various constituencies. Two of the papers discuss the effects of the JTPA on national employment and training programs, and on state-level programs, while a third discusses…

The Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects were set up to aid disadvantaged youths, ages 16 to 19, guaranteeing them a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer months on the condition that they remain in, or return to, a secondary school or enroll in an equivalency education program. It was started in January,…

The data presented in this report provide insight into employer involvement at 29 Exemplary In-School Demonstration Projects. Twenty of these programs actively sought work experiences for their youth participants, and an additional six programs contained work experience components that did not necessitate employer identification/participation. The…