Skip to main content
Report

Government-Supported Job Training in the US: Paths Toward Reforming The Workforce

American Enterprise Institute

July 21, 2023

Download PDF
  • Funding for government-supported job training in the US has been declining since the 1970s, and the current Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program needs administrative reform to cut red tape and increase flexibility.
  • The program needs to incentivize rigorous evaluations of training programs to identify successful models for improving training and employment outcomes.
  • Section 1115 of the Social Security Act offers a potential avenue for providing states with flexible waivers to test innovative reform approaches. Such experiments would provide insight and models for other states and localities to use as they adapt and scale.
  • Rigorous evaluations of waiver-driven experiments and supplemental resources and implementation assistance are necessary to help build the workforce development practices of the future.

Comment on Proposed Rule Establishing Flexibility for Implementation of Work Requirements and Term Limits in Federal Housing Assistance Programs

May 1, 2026 | Kevin Corinth

Overview  The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted a notice of...

Chicago’s “Disappearing Middle Class” Can Be Found in Its Proliferating Upper Middle-Class Neighborhoods

April 30, 2026 | Scott Winship

In a recent  with Stephen Rose, I argued that the narrative of a “shrinking middle class”...

How Policy and Demographics Are Reshaping SNAP: From Families with Children to Older Adults

April 29, 2026 | Angela Rachidi

Abstract The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has grown substantially since the turn of the...

Understanding the Recent Declines in SNAP Participation

April 28, 2026 | Angela Rachidi

The number of people receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has...