An Evaluation of the Impact of ES Referrals on Applicant Earnings

The impact of the labor exchange activities of the United States Employment Service (ES) on job seekers is analyzed in this paper. We compare the labor market experiences following application to the ES of individuals who receive ES job referrals with the experiences of those who do not receive referrals. Extensive evidence is presented indicating that the not-referred group is a reliable comparison group for estimating the impact of ES referrals on applicant labor market experiences. Our impact estimates indicate that there are significant and sizable effects of a job referral for women, resulting in increased earnings and reduced length of time to reemployment. The impacts of a job referral for men, however, are not significantly different from zero.