Can Low-Income Single Parents Move up in the Labor Market? Findings from the Employment Retention...

"A large fraction of the U.S. workforce earns wages. Those that do not that cannot lift a family above the poverty line, and although some of these individuals will move up over time to better and higher-paying jobs, many will not. Policymakers have expressed significant interest in finding ways to help these workers stay employed and advance in the labor market. Identifying effective strategies, however, has been a challenge. The data collected as part of the evaluation provides an important opportunity to look in-depth and over time at the work experiences of the more than 27,000 single parents — both those who received ERA services (program group) and those who did not (control group)" (p.1). (Abstractor: Author)

Full publication title: Can Low-Income Single Parents Move up in the Labor Market? Findings from the Employment Retention and Advancement Project

• "Parents who advanced had more stable employment than other parents and returned to work more quickly if they were not employed. • Parents who advanced experienced faster earnings growth while working than other parents, especially when they changed jobs. • Single parents who advanced were somewhat more likely than other parents to participate in education and training activities during follow-up year 1 and were more likely to obtain a license or certificate during year 1. By follow-up month 42, however, these differences had narrowed. • By the end of the follow-up period, parents who advanced, compared with other parents, were more likely to work full time and earned higher wages. They also worked in different types of jobs — jobs with larger employers and more often covered by a union agreement. • "The ERA data indicate that about one in four parents advanced [top third of study participants that increased quarterly earnings], meaning that they experienced a notable increase in earnings reported through unemployment insurance (UI) records between follow-up Years 1 and 3. The median worker in the group that advanced experienced a 91 percent earnings gain from Year 1 to Year 3, although average earnings during Year 3 were still fairly low, about $20,700 in 2008 dollars. About four in ten single parents did not advance, meaning that they worked during Year 3 but did not experience a notable earnings gain relative to Year 1" (p.3-7). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2011
• Author(s): Miller, Cynthia; Deitch, Victoria; Hill, Aaron
• Organizational Author(s): MDRC
• Funding Source: Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Melissa Mack
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies