Decline in Federal Funding for Employment and Training Programs

Since 1979—the peak year of federal investment in employment and training programs—funding has declined in real terms by nearly 70 percent. Between 2000 and 2007 alone, funding for Workforce Investment Act programs for adults, dislocated workers and youth declined by about 12 percent.

Source: Written Comments on the Senate Workforce Reinvestment Act Reauthorization. Center for Law and Social Policy, November 2008.