The Evaluation of the Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) Program was designed to estimate the impact of the REA program on UI duration (the length of time claimants spent on Unemployment Insurance, in weeks), employment, and earnings. The evaluation was conducted in four states—Indiana, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin—and included both an implementation study and large impact study.
Key Findings:
• REA cuts UI duration, on average by about 1.3 weeks.
• About half of that decrease is more time employed and about half is more time neither employed nor receiving UI.
• REA increases employment and earnings a small amount.
• Impacts are not consistently larger for those predicted to be most likely to exhaust benefits (profile score).
• Impacts are consistently larger for those with lower earnings in the previous year and lower weekly benefit amounts.
• Little of the impact comes from enforcement of UI’s ongoing eligibility requirements (e.g., able and available, sufficiently intensive job search).
• Some of the impact comes from the assistance with job search and referrals to reemployment services provided at the REA meeting.
• Most of the impact comes from enforcement of the procedural requirement to attend the REA meeting.
The final report and related summaries are below.
Evaluation of the Impacts of the Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) Program Final Report