Job Performance and Retention among Welfare Recipients

Abstract

Using data from a recent survey of employers, this article analyzes job performance and retention rates of recently hired welfare recipients. The findings suggest that most recipients perform as well as or better than employees in comparable jobs and that their turnover rates appear fairly low. Still, employers frequently note absenteeism and poor attitudes toward work, problems that are strongly linked to turnover and weak job performance. Various characteristics of the workers, employers, and jobs are associated with performance and retention difficulties among working welfare recipients.