ERIC Number: ED448337
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2000
Pages: 28
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Who's Hiring Whom for What? A Report on Employer Practices and Perceptions in Wisconsin and Their Implications for the Future of Welfare Reform.
Jacobson, Robert; Green, Gary
The practices and perceptions of Wisconsin employers regarding welfare recipients were examined. First, 500 employers outside the Milwaukee metropolitan area were interviewed by telephone. Those data were merged with data from a survey of Milwaukee-area employers, resulting in a statewide sample of about 1,250 Wisconsin employers (25%, 35%, and 40% of whom were from small, medium, and large firms, respectively). In the current robust economic cycle, the job market appeared quite capable of absorbing most former welfare recipients who exhibit even a bare minimum level of job readiness. Most employers believed that their role in supporting their employees involves not much more than providing a paycheck. Nearly one-third of employers interviewed indicated that their most recently hired former welfare recipients' chances for promotion were fair or poor. The implications of these and other findings regarding new hires' characteristics, qualifications, and job performance were examined. The following were among the recommendations offered: (1) promote increased employment involvement in and awareness of welfare-to-work efforts; (2) increase education and training opportunities to prepare individuals for the future demands of a less favorable labor market; (3) boost support programs, including child care, transportation, and housing; and (4) expand efforts to implement the Workforce Investment Act. (Contains 34 tables/figures.) (MN)
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Education Work Relationship, Educational Finance, Educational Needs, Educational Opportunities, Educational Planning, Educational Policy, Employed Women, Employer Attitudes, Employer Employee Relationship, Employment Level, Employment Opportunities, Employment Patterns, Employment Practices, Employment Programs, Employment Qualifications, Employment Services, Ethnic Groups, Federal Legislation, Financial Support, Fringe Benefits, Income, Individual Characteristics, Job Performance, Labor Needs, Needs Assessment, Policy Formation, Program Development, Program Improvement, Promotion (Occupational), Public Policy, Racial Differences, Salary Wage Differentials, Statewide Planning, Trend Analysis, Welfare Recipients, Welfare Reform, Work Attitudes, Work Experience
Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, 16 North Carroll Street, Suite 600, Madison, WI 53703. Tel: 608-284-0580; Fax: 608-284-0583; Web site: http://www.wccf.org.
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: Joyce Foundation, Chicago, IL.
Authoring Institution: Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Inc., Madison.
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Workforce Investment Act 1998
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A