Employment: Long-Term Earnings

It is possible that program investments simply do not pay off immediately. Of three programs studied (including one residential program), only one significantly improved the longer-term earnings of program members as a group (JC). In the last quarter of a 30-month follow-up, Job Corps youths who were age 16 to 17 when they began the program had gained $21 to $26 in average weekly earnings. Similarly, those age 16 to 19 when they were assigned to JOBSTART had significantly higher earnings when compared to 20- to 21-year-olds (JS2). While JOBSTART did not increase earnings for the entire group, it did increase the earnings of some subgroups compared to their peers in the control group-namely, young men with arrest records, young men who dropped out of school because of educational difficulties, and young women who dropped out of school and were not living with their own children (JS2). Finally, JTPA programs did not increase longer-term earnings for its targeted group: out-of-school youths age 16 to 21.