Showing papers by "Harry J. Holzer published in 2001"

Will Employers Hire Ex-Offenders? Employer Preferences, Background Checks, and Their Determinants

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze employer demand for ex-offenders. We use data from a recent survey of employers to analyze not only employer preferences for offenders, but also the extent to which they check criminal backgrounds in the presence of very imperfect information about the job applicants whom they consider. We investigate the firm and job characteristics that correlate with these measures of employer demand. We also consider the extent to which such demand changed during the 1990's, in response to tighter labor market conditions, using data from surveys administered at different points in time. Finally, we consider the quantities of demand for ex-offenders relative to their supply, based on a variety of estimates of total stocks and annual flows of offenders back to the civilian population.

How Can We Encourage Job Retention and Advancement for Welfare Recipients

Abstract: better jobs. Welfare reform in the United States to date has been remarkably successful at reducing welfare caseloads and raising employment rates among current and former welfare recipients. Similar gains have not yet been noted in other aspects of employment, such as job performance, retention, and advancement. Ultimately, these factors will be among the most important determinants of the wages and benefits that welfare recipients earn in the labor market and of their ability to support their families and achieve financial independence. But the research evidence to date on these issues has been limited, and what is available has mostly suggested low rates of retention and advancement. This brief presents new evidence on job performance and retention among welfare recipients. In particular, new findings have been drawn from a recent survey that focuses on the experiences of employers from four large metropolitan areas in hiring welfare recipients. The study then considers what these findings imply for policies on retention and advancement of welfare recipients, in light of what is known from various program evaluations in this area.

Meeting the demand: hiring patterns of welfare recipients in four metropolitan areas

Abstract: This survey was conducted in order to study the many factors affecting the ability of welfare recipients to find jobs. Several factors play a role, such as general economic strength, education levels, welfare population, and the administration of welfare-to-work programs, but is there a relationship between the location of people and the location and availability of jobs? Might the location of available employment actually be a disadvantage to low income and minority workers? This survey attempts to study the "spatial mismatch hypothesis" by examining the survey data from Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Milwaukee. The findings suggest that welfare recipients are more likely to be far from low-skill job opportunities; public transit facilities are less likely to be conveniently located where the jobs are, and welfare recipients are more likely to find jobs nearer the central city and near public transit. To improve some of the disparities, more effort needs to be made to improve and expand public transit access and to enhance business and job opportunities, "Enterprise Zones", in low income neighborhoods.

Job Performance and Retention Among Welfare Recipients

Abstract: In this paper we use data from a recent survey of employers to analyze the job performance and retention rates of recently hired welfare recipients. In particular, we analyze whether or not the employer experienced each of a set of problems with that employee; subjective employer ratings of worker performance; and employee turnover. The results indicate that most welfare recipients perform as well or better than employees in comparable jobs, and that their turnover rates appear fairly low. Still, absenteeism is pervasive, and often linked to child care/transportation problems; problems such as poor attitudes towards work and relations with coworkers are observed fairly frequently as well. These problems are strongly related to job performance and retention difficulties, and often plague those who quit as well as those discharged. Several particular characteristics of the workers, their employers and the jobs that they hold are also associated with performance and retention difficulties among working welfare recipients.

Why Are Black Employers More Likely Than White Employers To Hire Blacks? Discussion Paper.

Abstract: A consistent observation is that black employers tend to hire blacks at greater rates than do their white counterparts. This paper examines the reasons for this pattern using data from the 1992–1994 Multi-City Employer Survey, which is a representative sample of firms in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Using standard regression techniques and decomposition analysis, we find that black employers are more likely to hire blacks because they receive applications from blacks, and hire them out of the black applicant pool, at greater rates than do white employers. Thus, to the extent that there is concern over the persistent unemployment difficulties of blacks, having more blacks in positions with hiring authority within firms would help to alleviate this problem. Why Are Black Employers More Likely than White Employers to Hire Blacks?

Will Employers Hire Ex-Offenders? Employer Checks, Background Checks, and Their Determinants

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze employer demand for ex-offenders We use data from a recent survey of employers to analyze not only employer preferences for offenders, but also the extent to which they check criminal backgrounds in the presence of very imperfect information about the job applicants whom they consider We investigate the firm and job characteristics that correlate with these measures of employer demand We also consider the extent to which such demand changed during the 1990's, in response to tighter labor market conditions, using data from surveys administered at different points in time Finally, we consider the quantities of demand for ex-offenders relative to their supply, based on a variety of estimates of total stocks and annual flows of offenders back to the civilian population

Black Applicants, Black Employees, and Urban Labor Market Policy

Abstract: In this paper, we use data from a new survey of employers in four large metropolitan areas to analyze the flow of black applicants to different kinds of employers and the extent to which these applicants are hired. The results show that less-educated black workers apply less frequently for jobs in the suburbs than in the central cities, especially at smaller establishments. Their lower tendency to apply for suburban jobs seems to be mostly accounted for by factors associated with higher costs of applying and/or lower information flows. Black applicants, especially less-educated black males, are also less likely to be hired at suburban establishments. These results suggest the need for policies to improve the access of less-educated blacks to suburban employers, and also more effective enforcement of antidiscrimination laws in suburban establishments.

Public Transit and the Spatial Distribution of Minority Employment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Abstract: A recent expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area’s heavy rail system represents an exogenous change in the accessibility of inner-city minority communities to a concentrated suburban employment center. We evaluate this natural experiment by conducting a two-wave longitudinal survey of firms, with the first wave of interviews conducted immediately before the opening of service, and the second wave approximately a year later. Within-firm changes in the propensity to hire minority workers for firms near the station were compared with those located farther away. Also estimated was the effect of employer distance to the new stations on changes in propensity to hire minorities. Results indicate a sizable increase in the hiring of Latinos near the new stations, but little evidence of an effect on black hiring rates.