About the Brief

Download Brief

The brief presents findings on the effects of 12-month information campaigns designed to increase employer awareness of Short-Time Compensation (STC) programs in Iowa and Oregon. The states ran their campaigns starting in mid-September 2014 in Iowa and late October 2014 in Oregon, and researchers tested the effects of this outreach using a random controlled trial (RCT) design in Iowa and the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon and a quasi-experimental design (QED) in Oregon outside of Portland.

Research Questions

• What were the effects of the outreach on STC awareness?
• What effects did the outreach have on program use?
• What were the costs of information campaigns?
• What other barriers may impede STC use?

Key Takeaways

• The campaigns, primarily consisting of mailings, significantly raised awareness in both states. Among employers who were targeted by the outreach, awareness increased by an estimated 15.6 percentage points in Iowa, 17.8 percentage points in Portland, Oregon, and 30.4 outside of Portland.
• In Oregon, the outreach significantly increased STC adoptions. The estimated increase was, conservatively, 58 percent (19 plans) in the Portland study and 100 percent (28 plans) in the study outside Portland.
• In Iowa, increased awareness did not translate into greater take-up. The lack of change was likely due to a variety of reasons, including the strong economy prevailing in Iowa during the study.

Citation

Houseman, S., Bennici, F., Labin, S., O’Leary, C., Abraham, K., Sigman, R. (2017). Westat. Modest outreach increases employer awareness and use of Short-Time Compensation (STC). Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Download Brief

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.