A reference from an employer can serve to vouch for an employee's attitude or reliability. Our study indicates that there are significant transportation barriers to employment, with 39 percent of employers surveyed stating that their entry-level jobs are not accessible by public transportation. Likewise, only 1 percent of employers offer child care benefits, while the welfare program is largely composed of mothers with young children. Transportation barriers and difficulties finding adequate and affordable child care could create obstacles to sustained employment for even the most motivated welfare recipients. A majority of those employers in our survey have hired someone who has been on welfare.
Employers seem to have a difficult time finding qualified candidates for entry-level positions.
While 63 percent say they see plenty of applicants, most of these say there are few with the qualifications employers value most. Looking ahead, employers see the number of entry-level jobs holding steady. ESRI asked employers how well the qualities they value the most in workers describe welfare recipients in the workplace. Figure 3 describes our results for the entire sample. The highest ratings went to qualities of friendliness and dressing appropriately.