In 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) contracted with Actus, and its subcontractor, the American Institutes for Research, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Reemployment Services and Eligibility Review (RESEA) program. This program requires service-eligible Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants to meet with job counselors to undergo an eligibility review and receive services.
The evaluation used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to estimate the causal impacts of the program on claimants’ UI receipt and employment outcomes. From April 2022 through September 2023, a period characterized by a strong labor market and the lowest state unemployment rate since at least 2005 (2.9%), 48,810 Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
RESEA group: Required to participate in the RESEA program (single meeting)
RESEA+ group: Required to participate in the RESEA program (initial meeting plus a follow-up meeting)
Control group: No RESEA requirements.
The Final Evaluation Report presents the final findings of the RCT impact study, providing evidence on the causal impacts of the program during a low-unemployment period. Key findings include:
The program increased receipt of job counseling, with nearly 65% of RESEA participants receiving job counseling, compared to only about 3% of claimants in the control group.
The program reduced average UI duration by 0.60 weeks, leading to an average $182 in UI savings per participant. In aggregate, the program caused nearly $5.2 million in UI savings during the study period.
Requiring RESEA participants to complete a follow-up RESEA session caused additional reductions in UI duration, beyond the reductions caused by the initial RESEA session.
The job readiness assessment used by DWD to identify claimants facing reemployment barriers is shown to be a strong predictor of claimant outcomes and can be used to identify which claimants are most likely to benefit from RESEA participation.
Click here for the Final Evaluation Report.