The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse defines subsidized employment as employment that is partially or fully paid for by an external funder (not the employer), and transitional jobs as jobs meant to integrate those who have been out of the workforce (for example, people who were formerly incarcerated) back into the workforce. Transitional jobs can be paid or unpaid. This Evidence Snapshot describes the effectiveness of programs that were identified by the Pathways Clearinghouse as using subsidized employment or transitional jobs. It summarizes what we know about these programs and their impacts so TANF administrators, policymakers, researchers, and the general public can apply the evidence to questions and contexts that matter to them.
Key Findings and Highlights
On average, subsidized employment and transitional jobs interventions improved several outcomes. In particular, for intervention participants -- as compared with comparison groups that did not receive intervention services --
- Short-term annual earnings increased by $1,123 and long-term annual earnings increased by $600, on average, across the 16 subsidized employment and transitional jobs interventions for which these outcomes were measured.
- Short-term employment increased by 6 percentage points and long-term employment increased by 3 percentage points, on average, across the 17 subsidized employment and transitional jobs interventions for which these outcomes were measured.
- The proportion of individuals receiving public benefits did not change in the short term and decreased by 2 percentage points in the long term, on average, across the 13 subsidized employment and transitional jobs interventions for which these outcomes were measured. The amount of public benefits received decreased by $299 in the short term and decreased by $237 in the long term, on average, across the four interventions for which public benefit amount was measured.
- Education and training attainment increased by four percentage points, on average, across the nine subsidized employment and transitional jobs interventions for which these outcomes were measured.
- Ten subsidized or transitional employment interventions had positive impacts on two or more outcomes examined by the Pathways Clearinghouse.
Citation
Elkin, Sam, Jillian Stein, and Dana Rotz (2022). Evidence Snapshot: Subsidized employment and transitional jobs, OPRE Report #2022-83, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.