Intergovernmental Relations in Employment Policy: The United States Experience

Authors

Christopher J. O'Leary, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment ResearchFollow
Robert A. Straits, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment ResearchFollow

Upjohn Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3372-7527

Series

Upjohn Institute Working Paper No. 00-60

**Published Version**

In Federalism and Labour Market Policy: Comparing Different In Governance and Employment Strategies, Alain Noel, ed. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004, pp. 25-82

DOI

10.17848/wp00-60

Issue Date

February 2000

Abstract

Policies to regulate and support labor markets in the United States have mainly been an initiative of the federal government. Historically, states and localities were reluctant to act independently to build up worker rights and protections for fear of competitively disadvantaging resident industries with added costs. Federal constitutional authority to raise revenue and control commerce among the states governed development of labor market policy in the United States. Labor market support initiatives usually have been forged in difficult economic times with contributions and compromise from the full political spectrum. This paper examines the development of employment policy in the twentieth century by viewing the interplay of federal, state, and local partners. The programs considered include unemployment insurance, training, youth programs, and the employment service. Some attention is also given to governmental policy that influences the geographic mobility of labor. Intergovernmental relations in labor market policy have resulted in a system that performs a wide variety of functions, varies greatly at the local and state levels, but maintains important federal standards nationwide.

Sponsorship

Prepared for the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Subject Areas

UNEMPLOYMENT, DISABILITY, and INCOME SUPPORT PROGRAMS; Unemployment insurance; WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT; Labor exchange; Public training programs; WIA, JTPA, and CETA