Veteran and Non-Veteran Job Seekers

This exploratory investigation contrasts the experiences of Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) veterans, non-JVSG veterans, and non-veterans who participated in federally-funded employment services. It examines employment rates, earnings, duration in employment services, and how quickly customers receive staff-assisted services. Comparisons were also made across gender, age, and military separation status. The data used in the study encompass nine quarters, from January 2011 to March 2013, which were the most complete customer-level data available at the time of this report. Job seekers, who are customers of employment services, were tracked from quarter to quarter while they were enrolled in employment services and for three quarters after they exited. The nine quarters of data contain over 28 million unduplicated customer enrollments. Previous analyses of these data have typically focused on the overall differences in outcomes between populations without controlling for the demographic differences between populations. This analysis improves upon those simple comparisons by using regression-adjusted comparisons. Regression-adjusted comparisons account for the differences in gender, age, race, education, and disability status that exist between two populations, say veterans and non-veterans, before comparing them. For example, the veteran and non-veteran populations in the data have different education levels. A simple comparison of the earnings differences between the two would not account for those education differences. By contrast, regression-adjusted comparisons hold the education level constant across groups, effectively equalizing veteran and non-veteran education levels, before comparing outcomes. Results of the analysis suggest that the JVSG veterans exhibit higher rates of employment and higher earnings after exiting the program compared to non-JVSG veterans and non-veterans. JVSG veterans also exhibit smaller gender wage gaps. JVSG veterans generally receive staff-assisted services more quickly than non-veterans do, which may be an indicator of success for priority of service (POS) legislation. Further research is needed to determine impacts.