Since U.S. economic growth began to slow in 2006, both the Bush and Obama Administrations have enacted a number of fairly costly programs designed to stimulate the economy and employment growth. Because many of these programs are fairly new, there has been little comprehensive examination of their impacts, but initial analysis suggests that these…

The New Careers concept involves helping the disadvantaged to help themselves, by offering them entry level jobs with the opportunity for advancement to the professional level. A definite hierarchy is established according to tasks and educational requirements, and training is provided during the work day to provide the means for advancement. The…

This report provides results of an evaluation of SKILLNET, an education and training innovation to commission training in the newly redeveloped area of London's dockland. Chapter 1, an introduction, defines SKILLNET's primary function--to address the current mismatch between kinds of jobs available in the area and the levels and kinds of skills…

A field study examined the Public Service Employment (PSE) Program's intergovernmental effects. Addressed during the study were such questions as whether the program creates jobs in local government, whether local governments give preference to disadvantaged persons, and what kinds of services are provided. To collect these data, a network of…

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…

In March 1983, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) received $4 million in Federal funds to establish an emergency jobs program as authorized under the Emergency Jobs Act of 1983. Within 90 days, TVA found employment for 493 persons, and, by the end of June 1984, 1,183 persons had been employed by TVA. Of those employed, 14.9 percent were…

A formal review was conducted to assess the efforts made by federal agencies to implement the 1983 Emergency Jobs Appropriations Act (EJAA). (The EJAA provided emergency supplemental appropriations to provide productive employment for jobless Americans, to hasten or initiate federal projects and construction of lasting value to the nation, and to…

The Washington State Self-Employment and Enterprise Demonstration (SEED) was the first federally sponsored self-employment demonstration program for unemployed workers in the United States. Its primary purpose was to determine the viability of self-employment as a reemployment option for recipients of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits who do…

The first and longest section of this publication is a comparative analysis summarizing the impacts of the two Unemployment Insurance (UI) Self-Employment Demonstration Projects in Washington State and Massachusetts. Based on the first wave of post-project follow-up surveys, this evaluation report provides results on the net impacts of each…

The feasibility of large-scale, countercyclical public job-creation was assessed. Focus was on how many job-creating activities could be undertaken as well as the job-creation potential and costs of these activities. Data was collected through field visits made to Washington-based federal government and national organizations and to twenty-four…

The report consists of three parts: "The Design of a Federal Employment Program to Counter Recession"; "The Design of a Federal Employment Program in a Strategy to Raise Low Earnings"; and "The Design of a Guaranteed Job Opportunity as a Part of Welfare Reform". In Part 1, an Anti-Recession Program (ARP) is proposed. ARP is an automatically…

The main parameters of state self-employment assistance (SEA) programs for unemployed workers were tested in two experimental demonstrations authorized by the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The Washington State and Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance (UI) Self-Employment Demonstrations evaluated the ability of the…

The B-WEST (Building Workers Entering Skilled Trades) project was an 18-month demonstration project at a campus of Portland Community College (Oregon). During the B-WEST project, the following programs/components were developed: (1) a model building construction (electrical, mechanical, construction) trades program for unemployed and underemployed…

This second of a three-volume report of a study done to assess the feasibility of large-scale, countercyclical public job creation contains chapter 2 of the report on the methods and findings with respect to job-creating activities, their job-creation potential, and related characteristics. (Volume 1, comprised of the report's first chapter,…

This paper's overiew of the relationship between vocational education and productivity includes the presentation of results from a multiple regression analysis of vocational education enrollments and various productivity indices. This tentative analysis contributes additional observations to the studies reviewed and offers pertinent suggestions…