Breaking the low pay, no pay cycle: the effects of the UK Employment Retention and Advancement programme

Hendra, Richard; Riccio, James; Dorsett, Richard; Robins, Philip K.

doi:10.1186/s40173-015-0042-9

Table 2 Demographic profile of all customers randomly assigned between October 2003 and April 2005

From: Breaking the low pay, no pay cycle: the effects of the UK Employment Retention and Advancement programme

Characteristic	New Deal for Lone Parents	Working Tax Credit	New Deal 25 Plus
Gender (%)
Male	5.0	2.6	81.1
Female	95.0	97.4	18.9
Age (%)
Under 30	41.3	17.0	16.3
30-39	39.7	47.1	36.8
40 or older	19.0	35.9	46.9
Age of youngest child (%)^a
No children	1.0	1.4	84.0
Under 7	57.8	36.8	8.9
7-11	25.4	31.8	3.0
12-16	15.3	25.9	2.3
17 or older	0.5	4.1	1.8
Race/ethnicity (%)
Ethnic minority	14.8	7.8	21.5
White	85.2	92.2	78.5
Education (highest qualification obtained)^b (%)
None	23.2	12.1	36.3
GCSE	47.7	45.0	26.9
A-level	21.6	30.7	23.6
Other	7.6	12.2	13.2
Housing status^c (%)
Family	7.6	6.0	23.1
Social	66.5	37.6	45.9
Private	26.0	56.3	31.0
Number of months worked in 3 years prior to random assignment (%)
None	49.6	1.2	45.5
1-12	23.1	11.6	33.8
13+	27.3	87.2	20.7
Cohort (%)
Early (October 2003 - May 2004)	52.1	19.1	47.8
Late (June 2004 - April 2005)	47.9	80.9	52.2
No driving licence or lack of access to vehicle (%)	67.5	33.1	77.2
Has barriers to work^d (%)	65.3	68.0	62.9
Severely disadvantaged^e (%)	23.1	NA	20.1
Moderately disadvantaged^f (%)	NA	37.3	NA
Sample size	6,787	2,815	6,782

SOURCE: MDRC calculations from baseline information forms completed by DWP staff
NOTES: Rounding may cause slight discrepancies in calculating sums and differences. Sample includes all lone parent customers and all New Deal 25 Plus customers randomly assigned between October 2003 and April 2005
^aChild’s age is asked only for children who are living with the customer
^bCustomers who have General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) qualifications refers to those who have passed a series of examinations in a variety of subjects, usually taken at age 15 or 16. Those with A-level qualifications have passed a series of more advanced examinations usually taken around age 18 or older. Those with no qualifications have completed neither series of examinations
^cFamily housing refers to situations where the customer is living with his/her parents or other friends or relatives. Social housing refers to housing in which the Local Authority (local government) or a private housing association is the landlord. Private housing refers to owner-occupied housing or housing that the customer rents privately
^dBarriers to work include housing, transport, childcare, health, basic skills, or other problems
^eSeverely disadvantaged refers to those NDLP customers with GCSE qualifications or lower, no work in the 3 years prior to random assignment, and at least one barrier to employment
^fModerately disadvantaged refers to those WTC customers with GCSE qualifications or lower and at least one barrier to employment

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