Employers and Welfare Recipients: The Effects of Welfare Reform in the Workplace

Although employment rates among welfare recipients have risen substantially since the early 1990s, many questions about welfare-to-work efforts remain. What are the employment prospects of the least skilled and least experienced welfare recipients? What are the chief obstacles to hiring them? How well do they perform? Are their wages and benefits sufficient to achieve financial independence over time? This report draws on employer survey data from four cities (including Los Angeles) to answer these and other questions. In addition to analyzing the survey responses, the authors compare the success these cities have had in moving welfare recipients into the workforce. They also explore the policy implications of their findings.