Do Temporary-Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes for Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence from “Work First”
利用底特律福利转就业项目的随机分配机制，发现临时工岗位未能提升、甚至可能降低参与者的后续收入和就业，而直接雇佣岗位则显著改善了这些结果。
Temporary-help jobs offer rapid entry into paid employment, but they are typically brief and it is unknown whether they foster longer term employment. We utilize the unique structure of Detroit's welfare-to-work program to identify the effect of temporary-help jobs on labor market advancement. Exploiting the rotational assignment of welfare clients to numerous nonprofit contractors with differing job placement rates, we find that temporary-help job placements do not improve and may diminish subsequent earnings and employment outcomes among participants. In contrast, job placements with direct-hire employers substantially raise earnings and employment over a seven quarter follow-up period.