United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Report to Congressional Requesters

WORKFORCE 

INVESTMENT ACT 

Employers Found 

One-Stop Centers 

Useful in Hiring LowSkilled Workers; 

Performance 

Information Could 

Help Gauge Employer 

Involvement 

December 2006 

 

GAO-07-167 
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

December 2006

WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT

Employers Found One-Stop Centers 

Useful in Hiring Low-Skilled Workers; 

Performance Information Could Help 

Gauge Employer Involvement 

Highlights of GAO-07-167, a report to 

congressional requesters 

The Workforce Investment Act of

1998 (WIA) required that many

federal workforce employment and 

training programs for low-income 

individuals, the unemployed, and

other job seekers provide their 

services through a streamlined 

delivery system. WIA also 

promoted greater employer

engagement in this delivery system 

by, among other things, calling for 

it to help meet employers’ 

workforce needs with services

provided through one-stop centers. 

In 2005, we found that about half of 

employers were aware of their 

local one-stop centers. However,

questions remained about how 

employers use them. In this report, 

GAO addressed (1) the extent to 

which employers, both large and

small, hire their employees through 

one-stops; (2) the extent to which

these employers view one-stop

services as useful; and (3) factors

that may affect one-stop service to 

employers. To answer these 

questions we surveyed employers 

who had used the one-stop system,

visited eight one-stops, and talked

to one-stop and Labor officials. 

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the 

Secretary of Labor follow through 

with plans to collect information 

on employers’ use of one-stop 

services and develop a way to 

measure employer engagement in 

the workforce investment system 

as part of the department’s 

performance reporting system.

Labor noted its intent to collect

such information. 

Regardless of size, employers completing our survey hired a small 

percentage of their employees through one-stops, and two-thirds of those 

they hired were low-skilled. About 80 employers who could provide 

estimates reported hiring about 9 percent of their new employees through 

the one-stops, roughly 1,300 of their 14,500 hires in 2005. They also reported 

that about two-thirds of those hired were low-skilled workers, in part 

because they thought the labor available from the one-stop centers was 

mostly low-skilled. Employers told us they would hire more job seekers from 

the one-stop labor pools if they had the skills for which they were looking. 

Employers primarily used only one of the seven services generally available

through the one-stop, but they generally viewed whatever services they did 

use as helpful. Most employers used the centers’ job-posting service. Fewer 

made use of the one-stops’ physical space or job applicant screening 

services. Still, when employers did take advantage of a service, they 

generally reported that it was useful because it produced positive results, 

such as reaching more job applicants than would have applied otherwise. 

When employers reported that they did not use a particular one-stop service, 

in most cases they either were not aware that the one-stop provided the 

service, obtained it elsewhere, or carried through on their own. 

At least three factors may affect one-stops’ service to employers. The first of 

these is the skill set of the labor pool. One-stop officials said that their job 

candidates generally had either low skills or lacked the specialized skills 

needed by employers. The second factor cited by one-stop officials is the 

limited number of staff available to serve employers. Staff at one-stops must 

serve both employers and job seekers with the staff and funding available to 

them. The fact that the Department of Labor collects limited information on 

employer engagement in the one-stop system is a third factor that may affect

the level of service to employers. While Labor collects information on 

employer satisfaction, this measure does not provide information on how 

employers use the system. Labor has said its new data collection system will 

include such information, but this remains to be seen. 

Employees Hired through One-Stops 

Source: GAO 2006 survey of business establishments.

13,143 1,318

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200 72

High-skilled

367

Mid-skilled

879

Low-skilled

Employees hired in 2005 Employees hired through one-stops in 2005

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-167.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Sigurd Nilsen at 

(202) 512-7215 or nilsens@gao.gov. 
Contents 

Letter 1

Results in Brief 2

Background 4

Employers Hired About 9 Percent of 2005 New Hires through OneStops, Two-Thirds of Whom Were Low-Skilled 6 

Employers Mostly Used Job Posting Services and Generally 

Reported That Using Any Service Produced Positive Results 10 

One-Stop Service to Employers May be Affected by Limited Skills 

in Their Labor Pool, Limited Staffing, and the Lack of EmployerRelated Performance Information 15 

Conclusions 18

Recommendations for Executive Action 19 

Agency Comments 19 

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 21 

Appendix II Comments from the Department of Labor 25 

Appendix III Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 27 

GAO Related Products 28 

Table 

Table 1: One-Stop Centers We Visited 23 

Figures 

Figure 1: Employees Hired through One-Stops 7 

Figure 2: Comparison of Actual Hiring through One-Stops with 

Employers’ Perceptions of the One-Stops’ Labor Pool 8 

Figure 3: Proportion of Skilled Workers Hired through One-Stops 

and through Private Sector Recruiting Firms 9 

Figure 4: Percentage of Employers That Used Each One-Stop

Service in 2005 and How They Rated Its Usefulness 11 

Page i GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
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Page ii GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

December 22, 2006 

The Honorable Michael B. Enzi 

Chairman 

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Michael B. Enzi 

Chairman 

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Patty Murray 

Ranking Minority Member 

Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Patty Murray 

Ranking Minority Member 

Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

United States Senate 

In any given quarter, the U.S. economy creates and destroys about 8 

million jobs. The resulting dynamic requires that workers find new jobs 

and employers hire new workers. Those who are seeking jobs, particularly

the unemployed as well as low-income individuals, can access federal 

workforce employment and training programs, many of which are 

overseen by the Department of Labor (Labor) through a streamlined 

delivery system required by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). 

This system consists of about 1,900 career, or “one-stop,” centers across 

the country where programs can provide their services. WIA also 

promoted greater employer engagement in this delivery system by 

requiring that employers make up the majority of members and lead local 

and state workforce investment boards that oversee the one-stop centers 

and by calling for these boards to help meet employers’ workforce needs 

with services provided through one-stop centers. While the law does not 

require any one particular service, the centers do offer services such as job 

postings, access to training for existing employees, information about 

employee resources like day care, or simply the use of a center’s facilities 

for conducting job fairs or interviews. Employers can also pay a fee for 

more customized services, if they are offered. In addition, the local boards 

can solicit funding from employers and others to pursue initiatives in job 

development and training. 

In any given quarter, the U.S. economy creates and destroys about 8 

million jobs. The resulting dynamic requires that workers find new jobs 

and employers hire new workers. Those who are seeking jobs, particularly

the unemployed as well as low-income individuals, can access federal 

workforce employment and training programs, many of which are 

overseen by the Department of Labor (Labor) through a streamlined 

delivery system required by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). 

This system consists of about 1,900 career, or “one-stop,” centers across 

the country where programs can provide their services. WIA also 

promoted greater employer engagement in this delivery system by 

requiring that employers make up the majority of members and lead local 

and state workforce investment boards that oversee the one-stop centers 

and by calling for these boards to help meet employers’ workforce needs 

with services provided through one-stop centers. While the law does not 

require any one particular service, the centers do offer services such as job 

postings, access to training for existing employees, information about 

employee resources like day care, or simply the use of a center’s facilities 

for conducting job fairs or interviews. Employers can also pay a fee for 

more customized services, if they are offered. In addition, the local boards 

can solicit funding from employers and others to pursue initiatives in job 

development and training. 

Page 1 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
In 2005, we found that about half of employers were aware of their local 

one-stop centers.1

 However, questions remained about how employers 

were using those one-stop centers. In view of the desire of policymakers to 

engage and serve employers of all sizes in the workforce system, we 

looked specifically at how some employers make use of the one-stop 

centers. We have examined (1) the extent to which employers, both large

and small, hire their employees through one-stops; (2) the extent to which 

these employers view one-stop services as useful; and (3) factors that may 

affect one-stop service to employers. 

To answer these questions, we conducted a Web-based survey of 

employers from our 2005 report who told us they had previously used onestops, interviewed 17 one-stop officials from 10 one-stops in 5 states, and

interviewed Labor officials and officials from other organizations with 

knowledge of workforce programs. We made an extra effort to contact 

small employers but could not reach many of them because of business 

closure and employee turnover. The results of our survey represent only 

those who completed it and cannot be generalized to the universe of 

businesses that have used one-stops. We obtained completed surveys from 

113 businesses, which we categorized in three groups by size: 14 small, 48 

medium, and 51 large businesses. Geographically these businesses were 

located in 36 states and ranged from a large fast food franchise to a sheet 

metal fabricator with only 10 employees. We visited 8 one-stop career 

centers representing a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas in 

California, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, and conducted 

phone interviews with officials in 2 one-stop centers in Pennsylvania. In 

some cases, officials from Local Workforce Investment Boards 

participated in these interviews. We selected 4 of these states because they

had the most employers that had used one-stop services in our national 

survey, and Wyoming for a rural perspective. We performed our work in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards 

between December 2005 and October 2006. See appendix I for details of 

our methodology. 

Regardless of size, employers completing our survey hired a small 

percentage of their employees through one-stops, and two-thirds of those Results in Brief 

 1

 GAO, Workforce Investment Act: Employers Are Aware of, Using, and Satisfied with

One-Stop Services, but More Data Could Help Labor Better Address Employers’ Needs, 

GAO-05-259 (Washington. D.C.: Feb. 18, 2005). 

Page 2 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
they hired were low-skilled. About 80 of 113 employers—those who could 

provide estimates—reported hiring about 9 percent of their new 

employees through the one-stops in 2005. This amounted to roughly 1,300 

of the 14,500 workers they hired in 2005. They also reported that about 

two-thirds of those hired through the one-stops were low-skilled workers, 

in part because they thought the labor available from the one-stops was 

mostly low-skilled. Employers told us they would hire more job seekers 

from the one-stop labor pools if they had the skills for which they were 

looking. 

Employers primarily used only one of the seven services available though 

the one-stop, but they generally viewed whatever services they did use as 

helpful. Most employers used the centers’ job posting service. Fewer made 

use of the one-stops’ physical space or job applicant screening services. 

Still, when employers did take advantage of a service, they generally 

reported that it was useful because it produced positive results. In the case 

of posting job openings, employers reported that it resulted in more 

applicants than would have applied otherwise. The few employers who 

used one-stop facilities reported that doing so increased their visibility 

when hiring. They also said that using one-stop services saved them time 

and money. One employer, for example, noted that use of the one-stop 

allowed his company to avoid renting hotel conference rooms for job 

interviews when it was hiring. When employers did not use a particular 

one-stop service, in most cases they said that they either were not aware 

that the one-stop provided the service, said they obtained it elsewhere, or 

said that they carried through on their own. 

At least three factors may affect one-stops’ service to employers. The first 

of these is the skill set of the labor pool. Citing this factor as one of their 

top challenges, one-stop officials said that their job candidates generally

had either low skills or lacked the specialized skills needed by employers. 

They also said, however, that employers may perceive the available pool 

as less skilled than it really is. One-stop officials cited the limited number 

of staff available to serve employers as a second factor affecting their 

service to employers. However, few of the one-stops we visited reported 

having received private sector funds that could be used to hire more staff, 

even though the law allows for charging fees or soliciting money from 

employers, and we have identified charging fees as a promising practice. 

The fact that Labor collects limited information on employer engagement

in the one-stop system is a third factor that may affect the level of service 

to employers. One-stop officials at several centers noted that performance 

information generally focuses on services to job seekers and not 

employers. While Labor collects information on employer satisfaction, this

Page 3 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
measure does not provide information on how employers use the system. 

Labor has said its new data collection system will include such 

information, but this remains to be seen. Additionally, while Labor has 

launched initiatives designed, in part, to help one-stop centers model 

approaches to serving employers, the impact of these initiatives may be 

limited to those centers selected to participate in the program or receive

program grants. A majority of the one-stop officials we spoke with 

reported they were not participants in Labor’s national initiatives such as 

the High-Growth Job Training Initiative or the National Business Learning 

Partnership, and that these had no impact on their capacity to serve 

employers. 

In this report, we recommend that the Secretary of Labor follow through 

with plans to collect information on employers’ use of one-stop services 

and develop a way to measure employer engagement in the workforce 

investment system as part of the Department of Labor’s performance 

reporting system. In its comments on a draft of this report, Labor noted its 

intent to collect such information. 

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 sought to improve the quality of the 

workforce by creating a streamlined delivery system for services offered 

by 17 federal workforce development programs. Under WIA, each program 

is required to make services available through the one-stop center system 

established for each local area. The services available to job seekers at 

one-stops include career counseling and referral to training programs. 

Although not specified under WIA, the services available to employers at 

one-stops include posting job openings, screening job applicants, assisting 

with downsizing, accessing labor market information, providing 

information on financial incentives and employee supports,2

 training 

services, and making available one-stop facilities.

Background 

So that the private sector drives the employment and training activities of 

the workforce investment system, WIA requires that business 

representatives lead and constitute the majority of members on state and

local workforce investment boards. Each local board is responsible for 

developing a comprehensive local plan that describes the one-stop 

 2

 This information includes financial incentives that encourage employers to hire, such as

the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and programs that support employees such as child care

and transportation assistance. 

Page 4 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
delivery system established in a particular local area. This plan must 

identify the workforce investment needs of area businesses and describe 

how the board will ensure that one-stop service providers meet these 

needs. Although Labor oversees the system, states and local areas have

flexibility to design and operate their local systems as long as they are not 

inconsistent with the requirements of WIA. 

Labor has several initiatives that were designed, in part, to help one-stop 

centers model approaches to serving employers. The President’s HighGrowth Job Training Initiative targets worker training and career 

development resources toward helping workers gain the skills they need

to build careers in fields like health care, information technology, and 

advanced manufacturing jobs. According to Labor officials, more than 138

High-Growth Job Training Initiative grants have been awarded totaling

approximately $250 million, as of August 2006. The grants are awarded to

local workforce investment boards that oversee one-stop centers. The 

National Business Learning Partnership program was designed to match 

high-performing local workforce areas with local sites that wish to engage

businesses more successfully. As part of this program, a protégé site is 

matched with a mentor to provide one-on-one consultation, develop a 

work plan, and support a transition to a demand-driven system. In order to 

participate in the National Business Learning Partnership program, the 

workforce investment board overseeing the local one-stop center must 

submit an application for the low-performing one-stop to become a 

protégé. Not all who apply are accepted into the program. 

While Labor assesses WIA programs through such measures as job seeker

employment rates, average earnings, and job retention, only one measure 

for these programs relates directly to employer services: employer 

satisfaction. In accordance with an Office of Management and Budget 

initiative, Labor also assesses workforce programs with common 

measures, which are similar to some of the WIA measures. However, none 

relate directly to employer services. To improve the collection of 

performance information, Labor is in the process of designing a new 

performance reporting system: the Workforce Investment Streamlined 

Performance Reporting System, slated for implementation in 2007. 

In previous work on employers and one-stops, we found that as a 

company’s size increased, so did awareness and use of one-stop services. 

Employers were more likely to use hiring services—posting job openings 

and screening job applicants—than they were to use training services. In 

general, employers were satisfied with the services they received. 

Page 5 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Employers responding to our survey hired a small percentage of their 

workers through one-stops in 2005, about 9 percent.3

 This amounted to 

roughly 1,300 of the 14,500 workers hired by the 80 employers we 

surveyed who could provide this information. Although some employers 

had hired a large percentage of their workers through the one-stops, most 

had hired only a small percentage. In a typical case, a manufacturer hired 

only 1 of its 21 new hires (5 percent) through one-stops. In a less typical 

case, a manufacturer hired 250 of its 1,100 new hires (23 percent) by 

posting all of its job openings with the local one-stop center. According to

Labor officials, the size and skills of the local labor pool overall (not just at 

the one-stops), along with a wide array of other factors, may affect the

ability of an employer to hire a large percentage of workers from the onestops. There were no material differences in hiring patterns for employers 

of different sizes.4

 

Employers Hired 

About 9 Percent of 

2005 New Hires 

through One-Stops, 

Two-Thirds of Whom 

Were Low-Skilled 

About two-thirds of workers hired through one-stops were low-skilled, 

according to the employers who provided us with an estimate.5

 Of the 

approximately 1,300 workers employers hired in 2005, about 900 were lowskilled.6

 (See fig. 1.) Employers said they relied on these workers to fill 

their entry-level positions. Employers in the food service industry hired 

low-skilled workers from one-stops to fill their cashier and wait staff 

positions. Another employer, in the manufacturing industry, hired lowskilled workers for entry-level positions on the production floor. 

 3

 The results of our survey cannot be generalized to the universe of businesses that have 

used one-stops and only represent the views of those who responded to the survey. Our 

survey respondents are a subset of respondents to a survey we conducted in 2004. In that 

nationally representative survey, 466 employers told us that they had used one-stop 

services. We obtained valid e-mail addresses from 178 of these businesses. In some cases

employers were unwilling to provide their e-mail address and in other cases the employers 

were no longer in business. We sent a Web-based survey to these 178 businesses and later 

attempted to contact an additional 25 small businesses. We received completed surveys 

from June through September 2006 from a total of 113 businesses. Appendix 1 contains

additional information on the limitations of our survey methodology.

4

 We found no significant differences in hiring patterns between large and medium 

businesses, and because of the limited number of small businesses, we did not include 

them in the analysis. 

5

 A low-skilled worker, for the purposes of our survey, is a worker with a high-school 

education, its equivalent in training, or less. 

6

 Across all sources, including one-stops, 54 percent of those hired were low-skilled, 26 

percent were mid-skilled, and 19 percent were high-skilled.

Page 6 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Figure 1: Employees Hired through One-Stops 

Source: GAO 2006 survey of business establishments.

13,143 1,318

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

72

367

879

High-skilled

Mid-skilled

Low-skilled

Employees hired in 2005 Employees hired through one-stops in 2005

Note: This information cannot be generalized to all employers who use one-stop services. The 

numbers used in this graphic are from those employers who could provide us with estimates, 80 of 

the 113 employers who completed our survey. 

Some of the employers completing our survey reported that they had used

one-stops to hire mostly low-skilled employees, in part because they 

thought it was mostly low-skilled workers who were available from the 

centers. Based on their interactions with one-stops, employers 

characterized the labor pool at one-stops as being, on average, 61 percent 

low-skilled, 26 percent mid-skilled, and just 12 percent high-skilled. With 

the exception of high-skilled workers, these percentages closely mirror the 

proportion of workers at various skill levels that they actually hired 

through the one-stops in 2005. (See fig. 2.) Although many indicated a 

willingness to hire more job seekers from the one-stops, some questioned 

whether such hires would be qualified. For example, an employer in Green 

Bay, Wisconsin, told us that he had a difficult time filling his open 

positions for welders and would be more than willing to hire from the onestop center if it had qualified job seekers. 

Page 7 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Figure 2: Comparison of Actual Hiring through One-Stops with Employers’

Perceptions of the One-Stops’ Labor Pool

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percent

Source: GAO 2006 survey of business establishments.

Employers’ hiring at one-stop

Employers’ perception of one-stop labor pool

67

61

28 26

5

12

Skill level

Low Middle High

Note: This information cannot be generalized to all employers who use one-stop services. The 

numbers used in this graphic are from those employers who could provide us with estimates, 80 of 

the 113 employers who completed our survey. Because of rounding, percentages for employers’ 

perceptions do not sum to 100. 

A greater proportion of the workers that employers hired through private 

sector recruiting firms were high-skilled, in comparison to the proportion 

they hired in the one-stop. Specifically, 51 percent of the workers they 

hired through the private sector recruiting firms were high-skilled in 

comparison to 5 percent of the workers they hired through one-stops. (See 

fig. 3.) Employers told us they used private sector recruiting firms either to 

find employees with specific expertise and experience or when they had a 

difficult time finding employees. For example, a financial services 

business used private sector recruiting firms to search for new executives. 

Another said these firms were only used when it was not possible to fill an 

open position after a reasonable period of time. 

Page 8 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Figure 3: Proportion of Skilled Workers Hired through One-Stops and through 

Private Sector Recruiting Firms 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percentage of employees hired

Source: GAO 2006 survey of business establishments.

Employers’ hiring at one-stop

Employers’ hiring through private sector recruiting firm

67

51

33

28

5

16

Skill level

Low Middle High

Note: This information cannot be generalized to all employers who use one-stop services. The 

numbers used in this graphic are from those employers who could provide us with estimates, 80 of 

the 113 employers who completed our survey. 

Despite their perceptions of skill levels available through the one-stops, 

employers completing our survey seemed willing to recruit from any 

source if there were qualified employees available. Many said they 

attempted to recruit employees from a variety of sources, including onestops, and hired the best applicant from any of such sources. For example, 

one said the firm had listed all of its job openings with the local one-stop, 

but ended up finding most employees through employee referral and walkins. Another employer that hired through employee referrals provided a 

bonus to workers who referred new employees to the company. In 

addition to having workers approach them, some employers also recruited 

workers directly from colleges and universities. Another said it used 

newspapers and the one-stop center and found employees from both. 

According to Labor officials, generally the most effective recruitment 

strategy is word-of-mouth through friends and relatives. 

Page 9 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Employers completing our survey primarily used only one of the seven 

services generally available though the one-stop, the job posting service.

However, when employers did take advantage of a service, in general they 

reported that it was useful because it produced positive results, such as a 

pool of applicants larger than would have been available otherwise. 

Employers also reported positive experiences in terms of interacting with 

one-stop staff, as well as savings in time and money. Employers who did 

not use a particular one-stop service reported that they were either not 

aware that it was offered, obtained the service elsewhere, or had carried 

through on their own. 

Of all services offered by one-stops, the one most often used by employers 

we surveyed was posting jobs.7

 Other services, such as screening 

applicants, using one-stop facilities, and using labor market information, 

were used less. A small fraction of employers we surveyed used 

information about financial incentives, assistance with downsizing and 

averting layoffs, or training services.8

 (See fig. 4.)

Employers Mostly 

Used Job Posting 

Services and 

Generally Reported 

That Using Any 

Service Produced 

Positive Results 

Employers Often Used 

One-Stops’ Job Posting 

Service, and Less 

Frequently Used Other 

Available Services 

 7

 Because the number of employers who used a service was often small, we could not 

determine if there were material differences in the type of one-stop service used by 

employer size. 

8

 As would be expected, some services, such as assistance with averting layoffs or 

downsizing, are not very often needed by employers.

Page 10 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Figure 4: Percentage of Employers That Used Each One-Stop Service in 2005 and

How They Rated Its Usefulness 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Percentage of users

One-stop services

36

30 26 26

10 6

60

8 1

9

4

Source: GAO 2006 survey of business establishments.

Of little or no use

Useful or very useful

1

Training

services

Assistance with averting

layoffs/downsizing

Information about

financial incentives and

employee supports

Labor market

information

One-stop facilities

Screen job applicants

Post job openings

1

Note: This information cannot be generalized to all employers who use one-stop services. To 

calculate the percentage of employers that used each one-stop service, we divided the number of 

employers who reported using each service by the number of employers who reported using any 

service in 2005, 81 of the 113 employers who completed our survey. 

Employers Generally 

Reported That Using OneStop Services Produced 

Positive Results, with the 

Exception of Posting Job 

Openings, where Results 

Were Mixed 

Most employers who posted jobs with the one-stop said the service was 

useful. However, others found that it did not produce the candidates they 

needed. Most of those who used the job posting service said that it was 

useful or very useful because it increased the size of the audience they

were able to reach and resulted in a greater number of job applicants. A 

company official at one mid-sized medical laboratory characterized onestops as a place where “almost anyone would go to find a job,” and said 

posting jobs with the one-stop enabled the lab to reach a large and diverse 

audience. For one small business manager, posting jobs with the one-stop 

Page 11 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
produced about 900 applications. For some employers, however, a greater 

number of applicants, in and of itself, was not productive. About one-third

of employers posting jobs with the one-stop did not find it to be useful. 

The owner of a mid-sized manufacturing company in Wisconsin echoed 

the experiences of others in telling us that when he posted a job opening 

with the one-stop it did not generate the applicants who had the 

qualifications he needed.

Although fewer in number, employers who screened applicants or 

accessed labor market information through the one-stop or who used onestop facilities said these services were useful. Of those who found 

screening services useful, most said that it increased the number of job 

seekers with the skills they needed. One large retail company was able to

hire over 500 new employees as a result of prescreening interviews and 

background checks performed by the one-stop. In another case, a midsized manufacturing company said the one-stop’s screening service saved 

the company time by reducing the applicant traffic in the office. Of those

who found it beneficial to use the one-stop centers’ facilities, most said it 

provided a convenient location for recruiting. One mid-sized 

manufacturing firm told us that the one-stop facilities provided a central

location where the employer could accept applications, conduct testing 

sessions, and make photocopies of relevant documents. Another employer 

told us that using the one-stop’s facilities enabled the company to continue

recruiting employees while the business’s building was under 

construction. Most of those who found labor market information useful 

said it helped the firm set wage rates and comply with prevailing wage 

requirements. 

Although used by few, training services and information about financial

incentives and employee supports were also useful to the employers we 

surveyed. Employers that found training services to be useful said it was 

because they improved their employee skills.9

 For example, 40 entry-level

employees at a large manufacturing firm learned to read blueprints and 

acquired other skills highly valuable to the company through training 

arranged by the one-stop. According to the human resources manager, 

these employees were better positioned for advancement in their careers 

as a result. Of those who said information about financial incentives and

employee supports was useful, most pointed to the fact that it was 

 9

 Training services can be provided at the one-stop center or through some other entity, 

such as a community college. 

Page 12 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
appropriate to the needs of their establishment or employees. One small 

business employer said that his local one-stop coordinated potential 

candidates for tax credits and made his employees aware of programs that 

could help the company. He cited these services as one of the reasons his 

business would be looking to expand in the area served by this one-stop 

center. 

While few of those we surveyed had used a one-stop’s help in downsizing 

or averting layoffs, those that did said that they found this service useful or 

very useful. Specifically, almost all said the one-stop’s assistance helped 

them comply with federal laws regarding downsizing and resulted in more 

employees finding new employment after downsizing than would have

otherwise occurred. In one case in 2005, one-stop officials met with a 

group of about 50 workers laid off by a large manufacturing firm in Indiana 

and told the workers about how to access the one-stop’s search assistance 

and training opportunities. According to the human resource manager, the 

one-stop’s help spared him from fielding multiple queries about job search 

services. In addition, he said the one-stop staff gave the laid-off employees

direction and encouragement toward new employment opportunities. 

Employers Who Used OneStop Services Generally 

Reported Positive 

Experiences in Terms of 

Effort, Staff Interaction, 

Time, and Savings 

Many employers who responded to our survey said that the amount of 

effort required to work with the one-stops was reasonable. Most of those 

we surveyed said it was easy or very easy to use one-stop services. Few 

complained about excessive paperwork or other administrative 

requirements associated with one-stop services. Some employers we 

interviewed recalled doing very little paperwork. 

Employers were also generally positive about their interactions with onestop staff. Among those who answered our survey question on staff 

interaction, about 70 percent rated staff highly on their professionalism. 

The employers we interviewed on our site visits said that being familiar 

with one-stop staff was valuable to them and added that their one-stop 

contact was professional and responsive. Several said they felt very 

comfortable asking their one-stop staff member for any assistance. 

Employers also said that one-stop services had saved them time and 

money. Using one-stop facility and screening services allowed employers 

to recruit new workers more quickly and efficiently, thereby saving time.

Many employers noted that one-stop services, which generally are free of

charge, had saved them money. One employer said the one-stop’s meeting

rooms, high-speed Internet access, photocopying assistance, and other 

services helped him save his company almost $2,000. He contrasted his 

Page 13 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
experience with that of other company franchises that had paid hotels or

others for such services. 

For Services They Did Not 

Use, Employers Reported 

Either Not Knowing about 

Them, Finding Them 

Elsewhere, or Providing 

Them on Their Own 

Many of the survey respondents who did not use one-stop services said it 

was because they did not know the one-stop offered these services. On 

average, about one-quarter of employers who did not use a particular onestop service said it was because they did not know it was available. 

Employers cited training services and information about financial 

incentives and employee supports as the two services they were least 

aware of and thus among those used the least. 

Some employers looked elsewhere for services that were also available at 

one-stop centers. For example, many employers accessed labor market 

information from sources other than the one-stops, such as information 

available from educational organizations or professional associations. 

Also, 35 percent of employers who did not post jobs with the one-stop 

reported posting jobs through other outlets, such as through private sector 

recruiting firms, newspapers, the Internet, and using word-of-mouth (other 

employees). In our discussions with employers, some said they need to tap 

all resources available to find qualified employees. 

It was also the case that employers did not use some services that involve 

activities they generally do on their own. With regard to training, for 

example, one employer said that making musical instruments requires 

training by a seasoned instrument maker. While about one-third of 

employers used screening services, over 70 percent of those who did not 

said it was because they do their own screening internally. 

Page 14 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
At least three factors may affect one-stops’ service to employers. The first 

of these is the skill set of the labor pool, which some officials 

characterized as low or lacking the specialization some employers 

requested. Part of the challenge, according to others, is that employers 

may perceive the skill level as lower than it actually is. One-stop officials 

cited the limited number of staff as a second factor that affects their 

service to employers. The fact that Labor collects limited information on 

employer engagement in the one-stop system is a third factor that may also

affect one-stops’ service to employers. While Labor has launched 

initiatives to better meet employers’ needs for workers, such as the HighGrowth Job Training Initiative, the one-stops we visited were not 

significantly affected by them. 

The one-stop officials we interviewed cited the skills of the labor pool 

available through the one-stop as one of their top challenges in providing

employers with qualified applicants. Whether the problem is that the labor 

pool is low-skilled, lacks the specific skills, or is misperceived by 

employers is difficult to determine. Some officials cited the low skill level 

or lack of education in their labor pool, while others cited the lack of 

specialized skills needed by employers. On average, officials estimated 

that about one-third of their labor pool was low-skilled, with these 

estimates ranging from 8 percent to 85 percent. A one-stop official noted

that it was difficult to provide employers with applicants that met 

employers’ minimal requirements for having at least a high school or 

general equivalency diploma. Other officials told us they do not have 

enough skilled workers to supply the needs of the businesses in their 

areas. For example, a one-stop official explained the difficulty in filling an 

employer’s need for workers experienced in mixing batches of cosmetics. 

One-Stop Service to 

Employers May be 

Affected by Limited 

Skills in Their Labor 

Pool, Limited Staffing, 

and the Lack of 

Employer-Related 

Performance 

Information 

Skills of the Labor Pool 

May Make It Difficult for 

One-Stops to Meet 

Demand for Skilled 

Workers

When told that employers in our survey used the one-stop to hire mostly 

low-skilled workers, some of the one-stop officials we interviewed said 

that to some degree employers can misperceive the skills of the one-stop 

labor pool. They noted that employers may not see skills as transferable to

their particular needs. For example, a one-stop official told us that when 

skilled workers were recently laid off at a tubing manufacturing company,

other local employers viewed them as low-skilled because the applicability 

of their skills to other jobs in the labor market was not readily apparent. 

Other one-stop officials stated that employers may characterize the onestops’ labor pool as low-skilled because high-skilled or professional job 

seekers do not necessarily tell employers that they have used the local

one-stop center. According to a one-stop official, high-skilled job seekers 

are more likely to say that they found the job posting on the Internet 

Page 15 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
because they want to convey the impression that they did not need 

assistance. In addition, one-stop staff suggested that some employers may 

perceive the labor pool as low-skilled because of a lack of applicant 

screening by the one-stop. One-stops provide screening services in varying

degrees. In cases where the one-stop did not screen, employers seeking 

high-skilled workers may be overwhelmed by the number of low-skilled 

job seekers applying for open positions. 

A Limited Number of OneStop Staff Are Available to 

Serve Employers, but OneStops We Visited Generally 

Did Not Leverage 

Additional Private Sector 

Funding to Increase Staff 

or Resources 

According to most of the one-stop officials we interviewed, another 

challenge they faced was the lack of staff available to serve employers. 

Staff at one-stops must serve both employers and job seekers with the 

staff time and funding available to them. While some officials told us that 

services to employers and job seekers complement each other, others said 

that their staff primarily serve job seekers and serve businesses as a 

collateral duty. In fact, half of the one-stop centers we interviewed had no

staff dedicated exclusively to serving employers. One official told us that 

in addition to serving job seekers, he went door to door to local businesses 

in the area to promote one-stop employer services because he had no staff 

dedicated to doing so. The other half of the one-stop centers we visited 

dedicated at least one person to serving employers full-time. The fact that 

employers expressed satisfaction with one-stop staff would suggest that at

least for them levels of staff weren’t an issue. Nonetheless, all of the onestop officials we spoke with agreed that if they were provided with more 

funding, they would expand services to employers. Some either said they 

would use funding to hire additional staff devoted to employer services or

they would increase one-stop service offerings to employers like training 

for their incumbent workers. 

Although a practice we identified as promising—leveraging private sector

funding—could be used by one-stops to hire more staff, most officials we 

interviewed stated that they had not done so.10 Six of the 10 one-stops we 

visited did not receive any funding of this type. The 4 one-stops that did 

receive private sector funding charged a fee for services or to use the 

facility. Each received less than $10,000 per year, an amount described by 

 10 WIA authorizes local boards that manage one-stops to solicit funds from employers

and/or have one-stops offer services for a fee to employers. We identified this as a 

promising practice in the following report: GAO, Workforce Investment Act: One-Stop

Centers Implemented Strategies to Strengthen Services and Partnerships, but More

Research and Information Sharing Is Needed, GAO-03-725 (Washington. D.C.: June 18,

2003). 

Page 16 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
some of these officials as minimal. When asked why they had not received

private sector funding, one-stop officials we interviewed stated several 

reasons, including hesitancy to solicit funds in addition to tax dollars 

already paid by businesses as well as lack of expertise and knowledge 

regarding how to solicit private sector donations. 

The Lack of EmployerRelated Performance 

Information That Labor 

Collects May Affect How 

One-Stops Serve 

Employers 

Labor has limited information about employer engagement in the one-stop 

system. Although Labor measures employers’ satisfaction, this measure 

does not provide information on how employers use the system. Labor 

officials told us that they do not rely on this information for any purpose, 

and as we previously reported, the information is too general for states 

and local areas to use. We recommended, at that time, that Labor require 

states to collect and report on employer use of the workforce system.11 

Labor was developing a new data collection and reporting system that it 

has since discontinued and replaced with a new system still under 

development. Labor officials told us that their latest data collection 

system will generate information on employers’ use of one-stop services, 

and will be implemented in program year 2007. However, this remains to 

be seen. Moreover, it is not clear that Labor will use this information to 

measure employer engagement. 

Some one-stop officials we spoke with acknowledged that there is a need

for performance measures related to employer services. Officials at 

several one-stop centers we visited also recognized that performance 

information Labor collects focuses on services to job seekers and not 

employers. Several one-stop officials stated that some basic measures are 

necessary to tie one-stop staff effort to employer outcomes and that if 

Labor were to collect such information, doing so might influence how they 

serve employers. 

Although Labor does not require that one-stops collect performance 

information related to employer services, officials at many of the onestops we visited, recognizing its importance, collected such information. 

Eight out of the 10 one-stops collected some type of performance data on 

their services to employers in order to assess how well they were serving 

employers in their local area. This included the number of new employers 

using the one-stop services, number of hires, repeat usage rate, self-service

versus staff-assisted services, and number of on-site recruitments. Officials 

 11 See GAO-05-259. 

Page 17 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
said they use this information to plan outreach and to assess progress 

toward achieving performance goals. For example, a one-stop official said, 

“We use the data to see who is using us and who is not and try to figure 

out the reason,” which suggests the value of this information for getting 

more employers to use the one-stops. 

Labor initiatives intended to increase one-stop capacity to serve employers 

may have limited reach, at least until greater dissemination occurs. Two of 

the 10 local workforce investment boards we visited received High Growth 

Job Training Initiative grants, and none participated in the National 

Business Learning Partnership program. According to the officials whose 

boards received grants, the funding was helpful because it increased the 

resources available to help address the needs of employers. One-stop 

centers whose local boards did not receive any program grants told us that 

the initiatives, which are intended to disseminate information in general, 

have not helped them build their capacity to serve employers. In those 

cases where a board did not seek a grant or participate in the programs, 

any potential impact may depend on the efforts of local officials to seek 

out program information. Labor has taken steps to disseminate findings 

gained from the National Business Learning Partnership by publishing 

case studies that exemplify various best practices approaches to serving 

employers. Officials from Labor also stated that they educate one-stop 

officials and others about their initiatives through a Web site.

WIA promoted greater employer engagement, in part, by calling on the 

one-stop center system to help meet employers’ workforce needs. While 

neither the act nor Labor regulations specify their level or range, employer

services are clearly part of this equation. While there are many ways that 

employers might be engaged, our findings raise questions about the extent 

to which it is occurring via service to employers. Although employers we 

contacted found one-stop services useful, a lack of qualified applicants, 

and misperceptions about applicants’ skill levels and a lack of awareness 

of some services had the potential to negatively affect their engagement 

with the system. This is all the more important because they represent a 

subset of all employers—those that actually used the one-stops. The fact 

that employers hired such a small percentage of their hires through the 

one-stop, coupled with the finding from our previous work that small 

employers are less likely to be aware of the one-stop services available to 

them, could mean that small employers in relation to large employers are 

even less engaged in the system. 

Most of the One-Stop 

Officials We Interviewed 

Reported That Labor 

Initiatives on Employer 

Services Had No Impact on 

Their Capacity to Serve 

Employers 

Conclusions 

Page 18 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Beyond this, there is another and greater indication that employers are not 

central to the system, in that Labor has not attempted to measure their 

engagement. Labor officials acknowledge that they do not use their single

measure related to employers—satisfaction—but also acknowledge the 

importance of having information about employers’ engagement in the 

system. Without such information, it is not possible to understand the 

extent to which employer involvement is helpful to job seekers or to 

employers, to know what role employers can play in achieving success for 

the one-stop delivery system, or to determine what, if anything, should be 

done to improve employer engagement. While Labor has said that its new 

data collection system will collect information on employer use of 

services, it is not clear if Labor will use this information to measure 

employer engagement in the one-stop system. 

To ensure that Labor has a better understanding of the extent that 

employers are engaged in the workforce system, we recommend that the

Secretary of Labor follow through with plans to collect information on 

employers’ use of one-stop services and develop a way to measure 

employer engagement in the workforce investment system as part of the 

department’s performance reporting system. 

We provided a draft of this report to Labor for review and comment. In its 

comments, Labor acknowledged the limited data available on employers’ 

use of one-stop services and noted its intent to collect additional employer 

data through a new performance reporting system beginning July 1, 2007.

While Labor noted that our sample did not allow for generalizations, it said

our report highlighted issues that the Employment and Training 

Administration has been engaged in tackling for the past few years. A copy

of Labor’s response is in appendix II.

Labor also provided technical comments on the draft report, which we 

have incorporated where appropriate. 

We will send copies of this report to the Secretary of Labor, appropriate 

congressional committees, and other interested parties. In addition, the 

report will be available at no charge on GAO’s Web site at 

http://www.gao.gov. 

Recommendations for 

Executive Action 

Agency Comments 

Page 19 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
A list of related GAO products is included at the end of the report. If you 

or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at 

(202) 512-7215. You may also reach me by e-mail at nilsens@gao.gov. Key 

contributors to this report are listed in appendix III. 

Sigurd R. Nilsen 

Director, Education, Workforce, 

 and Income Security Issues 

Page 20 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Appendix I: 

Methodology 

Objectives, Scope, and 

Page 21 GAO-07-167 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

Our objectives were to determine (1) the extent to which employers, both 

large and small, hire their employees through one-stops; (2) the extent to

which these employers view one-stop services as useful; and (3) factors 

that may affect one-stop service to employers. To answer these questions, 

we conducted a Web-based survey of employers, visited one-stop career 

centers, and interviewed Labor officials and officials from other 

organizations with knowledge of workforce programs. See below for more

detailed information on each of these aspects of our research. We 

performed our work from December 2005 through October 2006 in 

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Survey of Employers In order to obtain a list of employers who had used one-stop services, we 

built upon a previous survey effort. This previous survey of employers was 

conducted in July through October of 2004. During this previous effort, 

1,356 respondents completed surveys. The overall response rate to this 

previous survey was 54 percent. On the basis of an analysis of

characteristics of responding and nonresponding employers, we 

concluded that the results of the respondents could be considered as being 

nationally representative of all employers with regard to issues such as 

whether or not they knew about one-stops, knew about the one-stops in 

their area, and knew about the services available at one-stops. In this 

earlier effort, 466 of the 1,356 business establishments that were surveyed 

indicated that they were users of one-stop services. 

For this study, a contractor attempted to contact each of these 466 

employers and obtain their e-mail addresses for the Web-based survey. Of 

the 466 employers contacted, the contractor obtained e-mail addresses 

from 178. In some cases employers were unwilling to provide their e-mail

address and in other cases the employers were no longer in business. We 

sent a Web-based survey to these 178 businesses and later attempted to 

contact an additional 25 small businesses. We received completed surveys

from June through September 2006 from a total of 113 businesses in three 

size categories: 14 small, 48 medium, and 51 large.

The results of this survey are not nationally representative and cannot be

generalized to the universe of U.S. private sector businesses that have

used one-stops because of the small size of our survey population and 

possible response bias. While the 1,356 responding businesses in the 

earlier effort were considered representative for the purposes of our 

earlier survey, the 466 responding businesses that used one-stops may or 

may not have been representative of such businesses nationally. 

Businesses that had used the services of one-stops and that had favorable 

Workforce Investment Act
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

experiences might have been more familiar and more likely to be willing to 

take time and report on their experiences. Conversely, businesses that had 

unfavorable experiences might also be more likely to report on their 

experiences to make them known. Therefore, the 113 businesses we 

contacted in this effort may reflect a group of respondents whose 

aggregate views may not accurately reflect all businesses’ experiences 

with one-stops in the country. 

For the small businesses we attempted to survey, we could not reach 

many of them because of business closure and employee turnover. We 

attempted to survey 42 small businesses that had used one-stop services in

the past, but only received completed surveys from 14. In addition to 

contacting these employers by phone to encourage their participation in 

our survey, we also mailed letters and e-mailed messages in cases where 

we obtained their e-mail addresses. We were able to identify 10 small 

businesses in our sample that were out of business, had sold the business 

to new owners, or had new employees that do not currently use the onestop centers. 

The 80 employers included in our analysis of hiring patterns are those 

whose reported total hires in 2005 were within plus or minus 10 percent of

the sum of their hires through one-stops, the private sector, and other 

sources. For some of these employers, the number of workers they 

reported hiring at three skill levels did not match the number of workers 

they hired from each source. For these employers, we compared results 

excluding them with results leaving them in. The results were roughly the 

same. The comparisons of hiring patterns for large and medium businesses 

were assessed by comparing the median values of the proportion 

(employees hired through one stop over total hires) using the 

nonparametric Wilcoxon Rank sums test. 

In addition to survey nonresponse, the practical difficulties of conducting 

any survey may introduce other types of errors, commonly referred to as

nonsampling errors. For example, differences in how a particular question

is interpreted, the sources of information available to respondents in 

answering a question, or the types of people who do not respond can 

introduce unwanted bias into the survey results. We included steps in the 

development of the survey, the collection of data, and the editing and 

analysis of data for the purpose of minimizing such nonsampling error. For 

example, in cases where an employer gave an answer other than the 

choices provided, we reviewed, verified, and then categorized each 

answer. 

Page 22 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

We also visited eight one-stop career centers in four states: California, 

North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, and by phone interviewed 

officials in two one-stop centers in Pennsylvania. We selected Wyoming 

for a rural perspective and the 4 other states because they had the most 

employers that had used one-stop services in a national survey we 

conducted in 2004. In each state we visited two one-stop centers selected 

to provide a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas. At each one-stop 

center we visited, we spoke with relevant one-stop center officials and at 

least one employer that used the one-stop’s services. In preparation for 

each site visit, we sent officials in each one-stop center a list of structured 

questions that they answered in advance of our meeting with them. We 

then used these questions and responses to guide our discussions with and 

gain further clarification from one-stop officials during our site visits. In 

some cases, officials from the Local Workforce Investment Boards also 

participated. 

Table 1: One-Stop Centers We Visited

State City Local board One-stop center 

California El Centro Workforce Investment Board of Imperial 

County 

Imperial County One-stop Business and 

Employment Services 

California San Diego San Diego Workforce Partnership, Inc Metro Region Career Center

North Carolina Charlotte Charlotte-Mecklenburg Consortium Charlotte JobLinks 

North Carolina Lincolnton Centralina Workforce Development Board, 

Inc. 

Lincoln County JobLink Career Center 

Pennsylvania Norristown Montgomery County Workforce Investment 

Board 

PA CareerLink Montgomery County– 

Norristown 

Pennsylvania Philadelphia Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board PA CareerLink Philadelphia North 

Wisconsin Green Bay Bay Area Workforce Development Board, Inc. Brown County Job Center 

Wisconsin Walworth County Southeastern Wisconsin Workforce 

Development Board 

Walworth County Job Center

Wyoming Jackson [Note: Wyoming has one state workforce 

board that oversees all one-stops] 

Jackson Workforce Center 

Wyoming Riverton [Note: Wyoming has one state workforce 

board that oversees all one-stops] 

Riverton Workforce Center 

Source: GAO.

We interviewed Department of Labor officials who are responsible for 

overseeing the operation of the one-stop system. In addition, we 

interviewed employer groups and workforce organizations to determine 

perspectives on how the workforce system serves employers. We 

interviewed representatives from the following organizations:

Site Visits 

Interviews with Labor 

Officials and Others

Page 23 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Workforce Preparation, 

• National Association of Manufacturers’ Center for Workforce Success, 

• Jobs for the Future, and 

• National Association of State Workforce Agencies. 

Page 24 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Appendix II: Comments from the Department Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Labor 

of Labor 

Page 25 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Appendix II: Comments from the Department 

of Labor 

Page 26 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
Appendix III: Contac

A

t and Staff 

cknowledgments 

Page 27 GAO-07-167 

Appendix III: Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

Sigurd Nilsen, (202) 512-7215 or nilsens@gao.gov

Patrick di Battista, Assistant Director, and Paul Schearf, Analyst-in-Charge, 

managed this assignment. Tina Paek and Rosemary Torres Lerma made 

significant contributions throughout the assignment. Walter Vance 

provided methodological assistance. Susan Baker, Stefanie Bzdusek, and 

Cathy Hurley contributed to the administration and analysis of our 

employer survey. Susan Bernstein and Susannah Compton helped develop 

the report’s message. Jessica Botsford and Richard Burkard provided legal 

support.

GAO Contact 

Staff 

Acknowledgments 

Workforce Investment Act
GAO Related Products GAO Related Products 

Trade Adjustment Assistance: Most Workers in Five Layoffs Received 

Services, but Better Outreach Needed on New Benefits. GAO-06-43. 

Washington, D.C.: January 31, 2006. 

Workforce Investment Act: Labor and States Have Taken Actions to 

Improve Data Quality, but Additional Steps Are Needed. GAO-06-82. 

Washington, D.C.: November 14, 2005. 

Workforce Investment Act: Substantial Funds Are Used for Training, but 

Little Is Known Nationally about Training Outcomes. GAO-05-650. 

Washington, D.C.: June 29, 2005. 

Workforce Investment Act: Labor Should Consider Alternative 

Approaches to Implement New Performance and Reporting 

Requirements. GAO-05-539. Washington, D.C.: May 27, 2005. 

Workforce Investment Act: Employers Are Aware of, Using, and Satisfied

with One-Stop Services, but More Data Could Help Labor Better Address 

Employers’ Needs. GAO-05-259. Washington, D.C.: February 18, 2005. 

Workforce Investment Act: Labor Has Taken Several Actions to Facilitate

Access to One-Stops for Persons with Disabilities, but These Efforts May 

Not Be Sufficient. GAO-05-54. Washington, D.C.: December 14, 2004. 

Workforce Investment Act: States and Local Areas Have Developed 

Strategies to Assess Performance, but Labor Could Do More to Help.

GAO-04-657. Washington, D.C.: June 1, 2004. 

Workforce Investment Act: Labor Actions Can Help States Improve 

Quality of Performance Outcome Data and Delivery of Youth Services.

GAO-04-308. Washington, D.C.: February 23, 2004.

Workforce Investment Act: One-Stop Centers Implemented Strategies to 

Strengthen Services and Partnerships, but More Research and 

Information Sharing Is Needed. GAO-03-725 and related testimony 

GAO-03-884T. Washington, D.C.: June 18, 2003. 

(130536) Page 28 GAO-07-167 Workforce Investment Act
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