The Department of Labor on Thursday announced it has paused its Job Corps operations, cautioning that the program has issues with student safety and fiscal sustainability
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a written statement. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.”
The Department of Labor just released its first-of-its-kind Job Corps Transparency Report, using data from program year 2023, which found concerning results.
The Job Corps program is a federally funded residential career training and education program that is often popular with unions and centered around low-income young adults.
The report found that the average graduation rate for the program is only 32 percent. After graduating from the program, participants only earned $16,000 annually, which is barely above the poverty line.
More so, the program often suffers from safety issues, as there were 14,913 incident reports in 2023, even though there were only 25,000 participants.
The program also costs the American taxpayer $1.7 billion annually; the Job Corps Transparency Report has suggested the cost per student amounts to $80,000, which is $20,000 more than Harvard University’s annual tuition.
The average total cost per graduate is $187,000, which exceeds the average cost of a four-year college at $153,000.
Given that one third of participants graduate from the program, this shows little efficacity from the money spent for the program.
In program year 2024, the Job Corps program operated at a $140 million deficit, which required centers to save $119 million to reach the end of the program. The program is projected to hit a $213 deficit in program year 2025.
The Department of Labor subsequently decided to pause operations across 99 non-federally operated Job Corps centers, effective June 30.
The Biden administration issued a similar operational pause at two Job Corps centers after there were concerns about rising program costs.
Instead, the Department of Labor will collaborate with state and local workforce partners to assist current students with education and employment opportunities.
Secretary Chavez-Deremer concluded in her statement, “We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
