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OLYMPIA - A federally funded program to help job seekers secure a job is working, according to a report released by the Employment Security Department.
Job seekers who claimed unemployment benefits and were assigned to participate in the agency’s Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment program (RESEA) were more likely to find a job, earn more money and claim fewer unemployment benefits, among other findings.
On average, claimants assigned to the RESEA program:
- Were more likely to be employed in the first and second quarters after their claim by 2.4 and 1.7 percentage points.
- Earned on average $842.93 more in the two quarters following their claim.
- Claimed 0.78 fewer weeks in unemployment benefits and received $435.47 less in unemployment benefits on average.
“The RESEA program has significantly improved outcomes for unemployment claimants after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Employment Security Department Commissioner Cami Feek said. “RESEA is one of many excellent programs offered in WorkSource offices around the state.”
The RESEA program provides reemployment services in one-on-one meetings. Employment Security assigns claimants to RESEA based on the likelihood that they will use all their unemployment benefits.
Staff in Employment Security’s Data Architecture, Transformation & Analytics Division conducted the research as part of federal funding requirements. The RESEA program is an initiative set by the U.S. Department of Labor.
About the research
Research staff used information from claimants considered for RESEA between Dec. 28, 2021, and Dec. 26, 2022, to answer the following questions:
- Does being assigned to RESEA improve claimants’ career outcomes as measured by their employment and earnings in the two quarters following their claim?
- Does being assigned to RESEA decrease the duration and total amount of unemployment benefits claimants receive?
Other RESEA benefits
The report showed that, on average, claimants assigned to the RESEA program had a lower probability to exhaust – or use up – their unemployment benefits.
Research also showed:
- Employment Security was more likely to discover if claimants did not comply with unemployment eligibility requirements if they were assigned to receive RESEA services.
- On average, claimants who were assigned to the program were much more likely to use other WorkSource services.
“This study shows that we are adopting the U.S. Department of Labor’s recommendation to foster a ‘culture of evidence’ in our work,” said Gustavo Aviles, chief analytics officer for Employment Security’s Data Architecture, Transformation & Analytics Division. “When evaluations are built into programs, it fosters a continuous cycle of learning and improvement. We’re proud of this work and look to conduct additional studies about RESEA in the future.”
For more information, check out the full report (PDF, 518KB).