This report presents suggestive evidence on aspects of training funded by the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program (under the 2002 amendments) that were associated with better outcomes for participants. The analysis is based on telephone survey data from a nationally representative sample of TAA participants from 26 states, most of whom lost their jobs in 2005 and 2006. The analysis, which controls for multiple factors, suggests that early training entry was associated with better labor market outcomes four years after job loss, though there was no clear relationship between the length of a training program and employment outcomes. Receiving a degree or certificate was associated with more weeks worked for both male and female trainees. Also, trainees who found employment in their training field had better employment outcomes than trainees employed in other occupations and trainees who received career assessments were more likely to be employed in their training field. For female (but not male) trainees, some occupational fields (such as for health care professionals) were strongly associated with better labor market outcomes.

The report is part of a comprehensive Evaluation of the TAA Program which was begun in 2004, to document the implementation of the 2002 amendments and to assess the ability of the program under those amendments to achieve its goal of helping participants find rapid and suitable reemployment. The evaluation overall found that the 2002 TAA program led to increases in the receipt of education and training and the attainment of educational credentials, relative to a statistically matched comparison group of UI claimants, and that employment and earnings impacts were more favorable for participants who received training funded by TAA than for those who received income support without such training.