Long-Term Unemployed Make for Just as Strong Hires: Study

[Purveyor]

By Aki Ito Apr 4, 2014 8:48 AM ET

April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Employers in the U.S. boosted payrolls and the unemployment rate held at 6.7 percent even as more Americans entered the labor force, showing steady progress that will prompt Federal Reserve policy makers to continue reducing stimulus while keeping interest rates low. Michael McKee reports on Bloomberg Television's “In The Loop.” (Source: Bloomberg)

People who have been out of work for an extended period, once hired, tend to be just as productive on the job as those with more typical work histories, according to an analysis of almost 20,000 employees.

The research, provided to Bloomberg News by San Francisco-based Evolv Inc., shows no statistically significant difference in measures of job performance between two pools of entry-level call center agents: those who hadn’t held a single full-time job in at least five years before they applied for the position, and the rest. Evolv, which helps large companies assess and manage hourly workers, analyzed data collected from six employers in about 90 locations in the U.S.

The findings buttress President Barack Obama’s call to American businesses to give the long-term unemployed “a fair shot” amid growing evidence that employers have preferred to hire candidates without prolonged jobless spells. Some 3.7 million workers have been out of work for 27 weeks or more as of March, according to Labor Department data released today.

“We have statistical proof that hiring somebody among the long-term unemployed is equal to somebody who is not long-term unemployed,” said Max Simkoff, chief executive officer and co-founder of Evolv.

Evolv tracked four measures of job performance, each collected every day of the worker’s tenure. The variables included the average time it took for the agent to complete a transaction, customer satisfaction ratings, supervisor evaluations, and the percentage of the workday spent at his or her desk.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-04/long-term-unemployed-make-for-just-as-strong-hires-study.html

[Gidney N Cloyd]

1. Good. Those job ads that actually told the unemployed not to botther applying were just bullshit.

[Purveyor]

2. If all else fails, try the temp agencies. They can at least get you back into

the job market and into places to demonstrate your abilities that you normally couldn't even get an interview with.

My litigation support career started with a 'temp job' at minimum wage in '87. Years later, I was consulting in the field and making just over 6 figures.

I was very good at 'hearding cats' (attorneys and temp workers)...