WAGNER-PEYSER ACT

Contact: Sandy Miller
Employment Security Department
P.O. Box 9046
Olympia, WA 98507-9046
Telephone: 360.438.4135
E-mail: skmiller@esd.wa.gov

State Website: www.go2worksource.com

Participation: Just over 475,000 job seekers and nearly 8,000 employers were served by WorkSource offices between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

Who is served: All job seekers and employers in Washington are eligible for services funded through the Wagner-Peyser Act. Veterans and eligible spouses receive priority referral to jobs and training, as well as special employment services and assistance. Special programs are also available that offer extra assistance to people who have the hardest time finding employment, such as veterans, at-risk youths, offenders, welfare recipients and dislocated workers.

Program Description: Wagner-Peyser provides universal access to job search preparation and placement services to job seekers, and to job listing and matching for employers. Services are available through a network of WorkSource offices across the state and online through go2worksource.com.

Job seekers have access to a wide range of job-related services including skill assessments, career counseling, job-matching assistance and free classes aimed at improving employability. Unemployment claimants receive guidance and counseling to assist toward a meaningful and realistic work search. Another responsibility under the program is to ensure claimants are actively seeking work.

Employers also receive a range of services, including job posting, applicant screening, job fairs, free bonding for some employees, subsidies for on-the-job training, tax credits for hiring certain types of workers and programs to avoid or minimize layoffs. The system also offers specialized worker training and labor market information to help employers make educated business decisions.

Other Program Characteristics: Staff-assisted services have increased to keep pace with the severe economic downturn aided by an increased allocation to Wagner-Peyser through the national Recovery Act. Continuous improvement in program design and increased customer opportunities for short-term skill development are anticipated to increase customer satisfaction and employment outcomes. Also, new information and technology tools will better advise customers and staffs on career pathways and job referrals leading to self-sufficiency.

Program History: The Wagner-Peyser Act established a national public Employment Service as part of the New Deal legislation passed in 1933. Following the Great Depression of 1929, it addressed helping the unemployed get back to work and benefited employers by referring potential workers. In 1937, the state Legislature authorized the state’s public employment service. Over decades, through many economic downturns and growth periods, the Employment Security Department has enhanced its capacity to be a ready resource, regardless of the ups and downs of the business cycle, for employers and job seekers. Congress amended the program in 1998 to be part of each state’s mandated one-stop service delivery system that includes several related employment and training programs. In Washington, this system is called WorkSource.

Planning Cycle: Five-year. However, program planning for Wagner-Peyser is connected with the Workforce Investment Act Title I-B programs and is typically updated every two years.

State Core Measures: See Workforce Training Results.    

Other Outcome Measures: Federal measures include entered employment rate, job retention and average earnings. State measures include credential rates, median earnings, retention rate and participant satisfaction. Methodologies vary for calculating and reporting program performance data to the Department of Labor, the governor, various stakeholders within the Employment Security Department and its partner agencies, and to WorkSource partner organizations.

Funding and Regional Division: Funds are allocated by the U.S. Department of Labor to the state based on the state’s relative share of individuals in the civilian labor force and unemployed job seekers among all states. The Employment Security Department retains responsibility for all funds authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act.

State Funding: None.

Federal Funding: Wagner-Peyser formula allocation $14,623,623 (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010), Recovery Act $8,230,745.

Statutory Authority: Federal Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 as amended by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Administered by the Employment Security Department.