2012 TAA - Texas Workforce Commission

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Abstract Texas Labor Code §302.007 requires the Texas Workforce Commission to submit an annual report to the Texas Legislature on the effectiveness of the federally funded Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. The types of work that are covered and eligible for the TAA program have evolved over the years, but broadly speaking, TAA provides reemployment services to individuals who lose their jobs because of foreign imports or shifts in employment to foreign countries. TAA offers a variety of benefits and services to support Trade-certified workers in their search for reemployment. This includes job training, job search and relocation allowances, income support, and assistance with health care premium costs. TAA program activity significantly increased due to the 2009 amendments to the program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Based on those modifications and the condition of the economy, the number of certified trade-related layoffs increased significantly, as did the number of workers covered by those layoffs who became eligible for TAA services. The 2009 amendments expired on February 12, 2011, and the level of trade program activity decreased based on fewer layoffs being certified by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) during 2011. With congressional passage of the General System of Preferences and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (H.R. 2832) in October 2011, many of the 2009 amendment provisions were restored on a retroactive basis, and the level of certified traderelated layoffs increased after October. The types of work that are covered and eligible for the TAA program have evolved over the years, but broadly speaking, TAA provides reemployment services to individuals who lose their jobs because of foreign imports or shifts in employment to foreign countries. This annual report focuses on TAA customers completing their participation in the program, mainly in 2010 and 2011. Although the number of individuals covered by and receiving services under the 2009 and 2011 amendments increased significantly, most (54 percent) of the analyses of TAA participant characteristics and outcomes reflected in the report represent customers covered by the law in place prior to the 2009 amendments. Many of the individuals covered by the more recent Trade provisions are still in training or have completed training only recently, thus are not included in the timeframes for the reported measures. Recently trade-certified workers in Texas possess more education and a higher level of job skills than had been the norm in prior years. With more education and transferable job skills, coupled with the vibrant economy that Texas experienced prior to 2009, Trade-certified workers had great success in returning to employment without occupational or remedial training. As Texas began to feel the impact of the economic downturn affecting most of the country and with the expansion of the TAA program eligibility, more Trade-certified customers sought services through the Texas workforce system, including training for new careers. Introduction This report describes the services and outcomes for Trade-certified workers who completed participation in the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. These participants were covered under certifications subject to the rules of either the Trade Act of 1974, the Trade Act of 2002, the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act (TGAAA) of 2009, or the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011. The 2009 and 2011 amendments significantly expanded the types of business layoffs eligible for certification by the DOL as trade related. As a result, the number of workers covered by certified Trade petitions increased dramatically, as did the number of participants beginning training. Given that this report focuses on the characteristics and outcomes for individuals completing participation in the program, most of the workers reflected in this report received services governed by the Trade Act of 2002. The federally funded TAA program provides reemployment services to individuals who lose jobs because of foreign imports or shifts of employment to foreign countries, with variations on the types of jobs and the countries to which the employment is shifting based on statutory provisions in place at the time of layoff. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) administers a program of services for Trade-certified individuals that is fully integrated with the Texas workforce system. Texas Labor Code §302.007 requires TWC to submit an annual report to the Texas Legislature on the effectiveness of the TAA program. Specifically, the statute requires TWC to report: 1. The number of individuals entering employment (Table 4); 2. Whether an individual who enters employment after completion of a program retains that employment for at least six months (Table 5); 3. The wages earned by individuals before and after participation in the program (Table 6); 4. The occupations in which the individuals are placed (Table 7); 5. The number of individuals participating in integrated vocational and language training programs (Services and Outcomes discussion on page 4); and 6. Whether a participant has acquired basic skills to enhance employability in the participant’s local labor market (Table 2 and Services and Outcomes discussion on page 4). 2 2012 Trade Adjustment Assistance Annual Report 2012 Trade Adjustment Assistance Annual Report 3
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Program in Texas Services and Outcomes TWC coordinates the TAA program with all programs offered across the state through Workforce Solutions Offices, including the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) services for dislocated workers. Trade-certified workers are eligible for services including job-search assistance, skills assessments, and advanced vocational skills training to meet the needs of Texas employers, as well as other assistance, such as transportation reimbursements and subsidized child care while in training provided through Workforce Solutions Offices. A description of Trade services, benefits, and service delivery for Trade-certified workers is provided in the Appendix (page 18). The number of Trade-certified workers participating in TAA-supported training decreased from 4,256 during SFY 2010 to 4,071 during SFY 2011. This decreasing trend continued into SFY 2012, when a total of 2,729 workers participated in TAA-supported training. An increase in recent Trade certifications issued by DOL may result in future increases in the number of Trade-certified participants in coming years. The following is a summary of the outcomes of the services provided to Trade-certified workers who recently ended participation in the TAA program. Additional detail about TAA program participants and the applicable time frames covered is available in Tables 1–7, pages 11–17. • 73 percent of the individuals who ended participation in the TAA program found employment by the end of the quarter following participation (Table 4) • 92 percent of individuals who entered employment by the end of the first quarter after ending participation in the TAA program retained that employment for at least six months (Table 5) • Individuals who ended participation in the TAA program and entered employment earned average wages of $20,061 during the second and third quarters of employment following participation, earning 88 percent of their prior wages (Table 6) • Of the 1,829 participants who ended participation in the TAA program and for whom the employing industry after ending participation is known, the top five industries in which individuals obtained jobs are: ‣ 31 percent (or 561) in manufacturing; ‣ 17 percent (or 314) in administrative and support services; ‣ 11 percent (or 209) in health care and social assistance; ‣ 6 percent (or 115) in wholesale trade; and, ‣ 6 percent (or 110) in retail trade. (Table 7) Trade-certified workers are eligible for services including job-search assistance, skills assessments, and advanced vocational skills training to meet the needs of Texas employers, as well as other assistance, such as transportation reimbursements and subsidized child care while in training provided through Workforce Solutions Offices. • Of the 2,237 individuals who ended participation in the TAA program after being enrolled in TAAapproved training: ‣ 93 percent (2,075 of 2,237) participated in vocational training that also may have included other remedial programs (data does not specifically identify remedial training that has been integrated with a vocational program); ‣ 21 percent (or 469) participated in a remedial education program that was delivered separately from vocational training; and ‣ 14 percent (or 307) participated in both vocational training and a separate remedial education program. (Table 2) The amendment expanded coverage to business services workers laid off because their jobs or the services they supplied were relocated to a foreign country (not limited to those with which the United States had a free trade agreement). Changes to Service Delivery As previously referenced, the TAA program has evolved over the years, with the types of businesses and industries covered and the range of services available to workers changing based on statutory requirements. Trade-certified workers reflected in this report were served under the rules established by the Trade Act of 1974, the Trade Act of 2002, TGAAA of 2009, or the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011, depending on which law was in place when the affected company was certified by DOL. TGAAA, effective May 18, 2009, amended the Trade Act of 2002, and made significant changes to the TAA program. These changes continued under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011. Before this legislation, the TAA program benefited only manufacturing workers and only shifts in production to a country with which the United States had a free trade agreement. The amendment expanded coverage to business services workers laid off because their jobs or the services they supplied were relocated to a foreign country (not limited to those with which the United States had a free trade agreement). Furthermore, the TGAAA amendments required that training programs for Tradecertified workers not be limited to the training programs available to individuals eligible for the WIA dislocated worker program. This expanded the training choices for Trade-certified workers in Texas. When the TGAAA amendments became effective, Texas saw an increase in the number of companies Trade-certified and the number of workers covered by those certifications. With the expiration of the TGAAA amendments, the number and nature of companies certified 4 2012 Trade Adjustment Assistance Annual Report 2012 Trade Adjustment Assistance Annual Report 5
Page 1 and 2: 2012 Annual Report Trade Adjustment
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Page 7 and 8: Demographic Characteristics of Trad
Page 9 and 10: Table 2. Training Services Provided
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Page 13 and 14: Description of Service Delivery for
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2012 TAA - Texas Workforce Commission

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