Job training assistance helps workers displaced by foreign trade

WASHINGTON – A new report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows 74 percent of workers displaced by foreign trade return to work three months after receiving benefits and services provided through the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program. At the six-month mark, more than 92 percent remain employed.     

These findings are included in the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers Program’s Annual Report, the department announced today.

“Workers who lose their job through no fault of their own deserve the support they need to prepare for their next job,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “Trade Adjustment Assistance is a critical component of our modern workforce training system, and the results included in this report show the positive impact this program has for workers and communities around the country.”

The report addresses TAA operations before and after passage of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015, which President Obama signed into law on June 29, 2015. The legislation ensured the continuation of the TAA program for six years and changed group eligibility requirements and individual benefits and services for TAA participants.

From Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015, the report shows the following:

• An estimated 57,631 workers became eligible for TAA benefits and services.
• The program served 47,335 participants and 54 percent of those participants received training also.
• Nearly 90 percent of those who completed training received an industry-recognized credential or a secondary school diploma or equivalent.

Data shows that TAA participants who received training were more likely to be re-employed than those who did not; and training participants who received a degree or industry-recognized credential were more likely to be re-employed than those who did not. Those who receive a credential or completed training also are more likely to retain their employment.

State fact sheets and an interactive data map are available in addition to the full TAA report.