  Evidence on the effectiveness of retraining U.S. unemployed workers primarily
comes from evaluations of training programs, which represent one narrow avenue
for skill acquisition. We use high-quality records from Ohio and a matching
method to estimate the effects of retraining, broadly defined as enrollment in
postsecondary institutions. Our simple method bridges two strands of the
dynamic treatment effect literature that estimate the
treatment-now-versus-later and treatment-versus-no-treatment effects. We find
that enrollees experience earnings gains of six percent three to four years
after enrolling, after depressed earnings during the first two years. The
earnings effects are driven by industry-switchers, particularly to healthcare.
