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Title: The Lasting Benefits of Early Work Experience
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Ruhm, Christopher J. Baum, Charles L., II |
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The Lasting Benefits of Early Work Experience Policy Report, Washington DC: Employment Policies Institute, August 2014. Also: https://www.epionline.org/study/the-lasting-benefits-of-early-work-experience/ Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97 Publisher: Employment Policies Institute Keyword(s): Employment, In-School; Employment, Part-Time; Employment, Youth; High School Employment; Minimum Wage; Occupational Attainment; Work Experience Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. The US labor market has recovered slowly but steadily in the years since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. But for young adults between the ages of 16 and 19, the recovery has been tepid at best: In the five year period since the summer of 2008, youth unemployment has averaged a staggering 23.5 percent, and the seasonally-adjusted rate was still north of 21 percent as of this writing. These young adults are missing out on extra spending cash, but they’re also missing out on early workforce experience that could play a valuable role in future career development. In this new study, Drs. Christopher Ruhm of the University of Virginia and Charles Baum of Middle Tennessee State University examine data that spans three decades to measure the career benefits of early work experience. The economists rely on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), which tracks the career progress of one group of respondents who graduated from high school in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and another group of respondents who were in high school around the turn of the millennium. This permits them to examine both the near-term benefits of early work experience (roughly 10 years after graduation) and the longer-term benefits of that experience (roughly 30 years after graduation). Carefully controlling for other family background characteristics that could impact subsequent career achievement, Drs. Ruhm and Baum find clear evidence that part-time work by young adults–both during senior year of high school, and during the summer months—translates to future career benefits that include higher hourly wages, increased annual earnings and less time spent out of work. |
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Bibliography Citation
Ruhm, Christopher J. and Charles L. Baum. "The Lasting Benefits of Early Work Experience." Policy Report, Washington DC: Employment Policies Institute, August 2014. |