Large-Scale Public Hiring and Labor Market Outcomes

Abstract

We analyze the impacts of large-scale public hiring on labor market outcomes by studying individuals hired to assist with the 2010 Decennial Census. Compared to similar applicants who were not hired, individuals who received census jobs were more likely to be working in 2010 across the distribution, with larger effects for those with marginal scores on the census hiring test. The effects persisted for individuals with marginal scores, who had higher employment likelihoods of about 25 percentage points over the next 15 years. Male hires accounted for the entirety of the long-term employment effects for marginal applicants.