Data Note
No. 19, 2008
WIA Employment Outcomes and Trends

Data Set: Workforce Development, Adults

Monica B. Cox and Frank A. Smith

This data note focuses on employment outcomes for individuals served by the One-Stop system through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult funding stream1. Outcomes data include the rate of WIA customers entering employment and their employment retention rate. This data note compares outcomes among adults with reported disabilities to those without reported disabilities. Reporting of disabilities by One-Stop customers is voluntary. It is likely that some WIA Adult Services customers with disabilities do not disclose a disability and are therefore undercounted.

Results from program year (PY) 2000 to 2006 show that rates for entering employment and employment retention fluctuate at the same pace for WIA customers with and without reported disabilities. After showing net increases from PY 2000 to 2004, each group shows declining rates in entering employment from PY 2005 to 2006. The employment retention rate increased slightly for customers with a reported disability and decreased slightly for customers without a reported disability between PY 2005 and 2006. Both in entering employment and employment retention, One-Stops experienced more success in serving customers without disabilities than in serving those who had reported disabilities. The gap in employment retention between customers with and without reported disabilities is smaller than the gap in entering employment, indicating that obtaining employment may be a greater obstacle for people with disabilities than retaining employment. 

Entered Employment Rate: 
Rate of entry into unsubsidized employment for adults who exit One-Stop services during the quarter. 

Employment Retention Rate: 
Rate at which customers retain unsubsidized employment six months after entry.

Table. WIA Outcomes by Program Year for Individuals with and without a Reported Disability served through the WIA Adult Funding Stream

	Customers with a
Reported
Disability
	Customers without a
Reported
Disability
			
	Entered Employment (%)
	Employment Retention (%)
	Entered Employment (%)
	Employment Retention (%)
	
2000
	60.7
	76.5
	70.0
	80.4
	
2001
	68.4
	77.5
	76.4
	81.1
	
2002
	64.2
	78.9
	75.9
	82.9
	
2003
	64.7
	80.7
	74.9
	84.7
	
2004
	66.5
	83.1
	77.8
	86.4
	
2005
	68.3
	77.4
	77.6
	82.8
	
2006
	63.9
	78.0
	70.4
	82.5

1 To be eligible for WIA Adult services job seekers must be 18 years of age or older and meet citizenship status requirements. Priority for intensive services is given to low income adults as defined by Local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs).

Suggested Citation
Cox, M.B. and Smith, F.A., 2008. WIA Employment Outcomes and Trends. DataNote Series, Data Note IXX. Boston, MA: Institute for Community Inclusion.

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This is a publication of StateData.info, funded in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (#90DN0216).