Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Amin, S., Chojnacki, G., Congdon, B., Davis, S., Langan, A., Deutsch, J., Welch, E., Spitzer, A., & Johnson, A. (2022). Behavioral interventions to improve work search among UI claimants: Results from North Carolina and Washington. U.S. Department of Labor. [Washington State]
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of a behavioral intervention designed to improve work search compliance among Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants in the state of Washington. The study authors also investigated a related behavior intervention implemented in North Carolina, the profile of which can be found here.
- The study was a randomized control trial that used state administrative data to compare the outcomes of Washington UI claimants in the treatment group to a control group.
- The study did not find any statistically significant relationships between Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants and the rates of work search errors or related outcomes.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we would be confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants, and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants
Features of the Intervention
The U.S. Department of Labor Behavioral Intervention (DOLBI) project supports efforts to improve labor outcomes using behavioral interventions. In 2019, the DOLBI project partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) to support work with two states – North Carolina and Washington – interested in experimenting with behavioral interventions designed to improve work search compliance and reduce improper payment rates. In Washington, the behavioral intervention involved sending a single email to UI claimants after they filed their first weekly claim. The email included links to a work search log for documenting required work search details and provided information on completing work search activities.
Features of the Study
The study used a randomized control trial to examine the impact of Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants. The study randomly assigned UI claimants in the state of Washington who filed a claim between December 2019 and February 2020 to either a treatment or a control group. A total of 26,967 eligible UI claimants were randomly assigned, with 13,444 assigned to the treatment group and 13,523 to the control group. The treatment group received the behavioral intervention. The control group did not receive the intervention. The authors measured outcomes using administrative data from Washington’s Employment Security Department. The authors used a statistical model to compare the rates of work search errors and related outcomes for UI claimants in the treatment group to the control group.
Findings
Public Benefits Receipt
- The study did not find a statistically significant relationship between Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants and the rate of work search errors.
- The study did not find a statistically significant relationship between Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants and the share of payments that were later disqualified.
- The study did not find a statistically significant relationship between Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants and the rate of work search errors among claims selected for Job Search Reviews.
- The study did not find a statistically significant relationship between Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants and the share of work search issues that were later cleared.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The underlying rate of system-identified errors may have shifted mid-study due to a second change to the evaluation context: Beginning in January 2020, Washington’s Employment Security Department, which administers the state’s UI system, adopted a new policy in which their online filing system began requiring claimants to record the details of their three employer contacts each week or else indicate that they had not completed the requisite work search. Claimants filing by phone were not subject to this new requirement.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we would be confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to Washington’s behavioral intervention to improve work search compliance among UI claimants and not to other factors. However, the study did not find statistically significant effects.