The recent health crisis -- and unprecedented, rapid job loss associated with it -- has illuminated how unprepared the United States is for helping workers who lose their jobs reskill to prepare for and successfully enter new employment. Policy responses to the current crisis -- while critical -- have fallen far short of addressing challenges…

This bibliography summarizes recent research on the structure and effectiveness of workforce development programs. While the term "workforce development" can mean many things, this document focuses on programs to help low-skill, low-wage and displaced workers increase their employment and earnings, as well as labor market trends that…

These four Congressional hearings investigate the role of the federal government in assisting long-term, structurally unemployed workers and in encouraging private sector efforts to retrain Americans. Witnesses who present statements, prepared statements, and articles represent the Urban Institute, Washington, District of Columbia; Forecasting…

Between 1981 and 1986, the U.S. manufacturing sector lost 1.2 million jobs. There is little regional variation in rates of plant closure, nor is there any correlation between cross-regional rates of industry growth and regional rates of plant closures. However, regional variation in rates of employment gains due to start-ups can be large and is…

The proceedings of a House of Representatives joint task force on the relationship of Federal budget policy to unemployment are presented. The hearings include statements from a representative of the United States Catholic Conference, economists of the Urban Institute, the vice president of the Committee for Economic Development, and a…

The current displaced worker initiative towers over the 30-year effort to bring the economically disadvantaged into the mainstream of the labor market. The Congressional Budget Office defines displacement as all workers 18 years of age and older who lose full-time employment due to slack work, job abolition, or plant closure. Major displaced…

This hearing focuses on the implementation of the Dislocated Worker Program as well as the concerns of those responsible for the program's administration. Representative Augustus Hawkins, chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities, opened the hearing by urging that more funds (rather than the proposed 55 percent reduction) are…

This report summarizes a hearing to examine the factors contributing to pressures on United States workers and to suggest government, industry, and labor policies. Section I is an introduction. Section II identifies the panelists: Director, Conservation of Human Resources, Columbia University; President, United Steel Workers of America; Senior…

This book-length report, prepared for the Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities of the House Committee on Education and Labor, describes the first comprehensive state-wide assessment of training programs--specifically the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)--in Illinois. The introduction assesses the JTPA in Illinois, a State with high…

This report addresses two concerns of Congress: ways to reduce layoffs and the effectiveness of programs to assist dislocated workers. Section I discusses the reasons for layoffs, economic conditions of the 1980s that led to layoffs, and public policy responses to worker dislocation. Section II describes alternatives to layoffs: short-time…

This annual report covers the period July 1985 through June 1986, Program Year 1985. Part I presents findings and recommendations from Commission work on the impact of new technologies on jobs, the problems of displaced workers, and workers' increasing need for basic skills. Part II describes the major activities of the Commission in three major…

This document contains testimony from two Senate hearings on the Reemployment and Training Act of 1994 by U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich and other witnesses concerning the Act and the need for changes in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which requires employers to notify employees of impending layoffs.…

The General Accounting Office reviewed the eligibility requirements and annual operating cycles of 38 programs providing employment training (ET) assistance to economically disadvantaged, older, younger, and dislocated workers at a cost of $8.1 billion. The review confirmed that conflicting eligibility requirements and differences in annual…

Re-employment experiences were analyzed for dislocated workers who used the services of the Employment Service (ES) during the 1980s under the Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act (EDWAA). Data came from administrative records in three states--Pennsylvania, California, and Missouri--noteworthy for differences in their…

The need for a national policy for the development and use of human resources is evident. One part of the human resource development issue centers around the needs of adult workers who are unemployed or threatended with unemployment because of structural changes in the labor market. The issue of retraining adult workers was examined in detail in…