Barriers to employment among out-of-school youth

Abstract

This paper examines employment patterns for out-of-school youth who were part of the recent Center for Employment Training replication evaluation, with a specific focus on their association with education level, childbearing, and arrest status. We find that high school dropouts work less than graduates, owing largely to greater employment instability for men and to both instability and longer spells of joblessness for women. Female dropouts fare particularly poorly, especially those with children. For women, we find no negative association between employment or wages and having children at study entry. Finally, men with prior arrests experience longer spells of joblessness than other men, and they earn substantially lower wages. Describing the nature of employment problems for disadvantaged youth and their association with several potentially important factors can inform program design in the ongoing challenge to find what works.