Women's Employment Study, Genesee County, Michigan, 1997-2004

Most of the interviews at the first wave of WES were conducted in the Fall of 1997. Waves 2 and 3 were conducted at approximately one-year intervals in the Fall of 1998 and Winter of 1999, respectively. Wave 4 and 5 were collected in the Fall of 2001 and 2003, respectively. At each wave, respondents were followed from the previous wave but no attempt to recontact non-respondents were made.

The Women's Employment Study, or "WES" combined the insights of poverty researchers, epidemiologists, and social workers by analyzing the ways in which a broad range of labor market, mental health, physical health, and family problems affect a welfare recipient's ability to obtain and retain employment over time.

WES initially began in the Fall of 1997, and five waves of the survey were completed by early 2004, with a high proportion of the original panel sample retained throughout the study.

The unique aspects of WES rest largely with the broad range of barriers it measures, and the longitudinal nature of the study that allows researchers to look at employment and welfare experiences over time.