Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper presents estimates of the net impacts of WIA services on the labor market experiences of individuals in Washington State. In addition, it presents estimates of the overall costs and benefits of the WIA program for participants and for taxpayers. The estimation is done using a quasi-experimental approach matching administrative data for individuals exiting from the programs to individuals served by the public labor exchange. Two cohorts of exiters are examined:  individuals who last received program services during the 2010—2011 program year and individuals who last received program services during the 2012—2013 program year.  Administrative program and public labor exchange data are linked to wage records, public assistance records, and unemployment compensation benefit data to examine the following outcomes:  employment, hourly wages, hours worked, earnings, UI benefits, and public assistance benefits.