The Longer-Term Employment Outcomes of People Who Move from a Working-Age Benefit to Employment

Abstract

This paper reports results from a study that used linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED) to examine the longer-term employment outcomes of people who moved from government income support benefit to employment during 2001/02. The study population was observed for two years before and after the benefit-to-work transition. The study described short-term and longer-term employment retention rates and earnings growth patterns, and compared the outcomes of the benefit-to-work study population with those of non-beneficiaries who began a job in the same year. It investigated some of the factors associated with more or less 'successful' outcomes, including personal characteristics, prior employment experiences, the timing and nature of the benefit-to-work transition, and the characteristics of post-transition employers.