All topics / Health and Human Services / Human Resources Administration
Clients whom HRA helped obtain employment (000)
Increase financial independence and upward mobility out of poverty through employment, education, skills enhancement, job search, job placement, wellness services and other supports. — Increase the proportion of cash assistance recipients who obtain and retain paid employment.
This indicator tracks how many Cash Assistance clients HRA helped place into jobs, which fell during the pandemic era when New York State waived mandatory work-engagement requirements for CA recipients. Fiscal 2024's dip to about 8,100 reflected a pause in voluntary employment referrals as HRA prepared to resume state-mandated activities; the subsequent jump to nearly 22,000 in Fiscal 2025 came as HRA resumed federal- and state-mandated employment engagement requirements earlier in that fiscal year.
Researched July 16, 2026 — Human Resources Administration, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, Human Resources Administration, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above. The dashed marker projects a full-year estimate at the current year-to-date pace.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 9,200 clients |
| FY23 | 9,200 clients |
| FY24 | 8,100 clients |
| FY25 | 21,900 clients |
| FY26 (YTD) | 24,200 clients |
| FY26 (projected) | ~32,267 clients |
Why this is tracked
The federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, adding a five-year lifetime limit on benefits and work-participation requirements for adult recipients. New York City's HRA had already begun tightening work requirements for Home Relief recipients in 1995 under the Giuliani administration, ahead of the federal law, prioritizing assignment to the Work Experience Program. HRA's current career and employment services, including job readiness training, resume help, and job placement, exist largely to help cash-assistance recipients satisfy these federally mandated work requirements while working toward self-sufficiency.
Career Services - HRA, TANF at 20: The 1996 "Welfare Reform" and its Impact, Part 1 - Empire Justice Center, Welfare Reform in New York City: The Measure of Success - New York City Bar Association
Source: HRA New York City WAY (NYCWAY), Welfare Management System (WMS), CA and Non-CA cases matched against State New Hire Placements file, OPMDA, and HRA’s Payment and Claiming System (PaCS) — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: An unduplicated cumulative count of only those placements for Cash Assistance clients and non-custodial parents obtained through HRA's contracted vendors, including Career Services and WeCARE. HRA also counts placements achieved through non-contracted services such as placements following a client's engagement in an educational program. Job placements that are self-attained by clients while engaged in HRA programs and services are also counted.