The U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday it will "pause" operations at 99 contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide, including two in Northeast Pennsylvania, amid rising deficits and other concerns.
Keystone Job Corps Center in Drums, Luzerne County and Red Rock Job Corps Center in Lopez, Sullivan County are among them, as are Job Corps facilities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, records show.
Kelly King, executive center director for the Keystone and Red Rock campuses, worries about how the move will affect current students, as well as those who could benefit from the program.
"The harm is that we asked young people to believe in their potential to earn their education and career training that could change the trajectory of their lives," King said. "Now they won't have that opportunity."
The federal program, which was created in 1964, provides residential education and vocational training to young people between the ages of 16 to 24. There are about 25,000 students enrolled in Job Corps programs nationwide, and the program is free to students.
Twenty-four Job Corps centers operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are not affected by the pause.
Announcement follows review
Announcement of the pause followed an internal review in April which found the program operated at a $140 million deficit in 2024 and is expected to reach $213 million this year, the Labor Department said.
The department also raised concerns about "serious incidents" at the centers — such as drug use, sexual assaults and other violence — as well as graduation rates and operational costs per student.
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training and community,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said.
“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. 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,” Chavez-DeRemer added.
According to the Labor Department, the system's average graduation rate is 38.6%, and the highest graduation rate among all Job Corps centers was 65.4%.
The average cost per student per year is $80,284, and the average total cost per graduate is $155,600.
The agency contrasted those numbers against average "post- separation" annual earnings of $16,695 per student.
How NEPA campuses compare
King questions the validity of the internal report, which relies on data from 2023, when the economic and enrollment costs of the COVID-19 pandemic were still being felt across the system.
As well, she pointed out that Job Corps "has been level funded for the past eight years, despite inflation increasing well over 23% during this time."
According to the internal report:
- Keystone's 170-acre campus in the greater Hazleton area had 611 students in fiscal 2023, according to the internal review, a graduation rate of 43.9%, annual cost per student of $28,247 and a total cost per graduate of $72,824.
- Red Rock's 60-acre rural campus near Ricketts Glen State Park had 300 students in fiscal 2023, according to the internal review, a graduation rate of 34.1%, annual cost per student of $57,531 and a total cost per graduate of $191,771.
King says that Keystone and Red Rock rank 17th out of 122 campuses for their overall outcomes, which take into account nine different criteria related to student performance.
Other points King raised:
- The Keystone / Red Rock campuses' cost per student is $46,520.
"Please keep in mind that this cost has been driven up because of the lack of applicant folders that have been held up since March, 2025," King said.
That is because the person who handled background checks for students nationwide lost their contract under the current administration, resulting in a backlog of application processing, she said.
- The average graduate wage for Keystone / Red Rock is $25 per hour, with apprenticeship-placed students' average wage $35 per hour.
"We have some graduates earning as much as $52 per hour in their apprenticeships," King said.
Keystone's programs for students include construction, finance and business, healthcare, homeland security, hospitality and transportation.
Red Rock's programs for students include automotive and machine repair, construction, finance and business.
- The combined economic impact of the Keystone ($31 million per year) and Red Rock ($19 million per year) campuses is $50 million per year for the surrounding region.
Keystone is one of the top 25 employers in Greater Hazleton and Red Rock is one of the top employers in Sullivan County, King said with a combined 357 employees.
And, she said, the campuses use the services of 226 small businesses throughout the region.
- King also pointed out that some of the "serious incidents" cited by the Labor Department include such things as students damaging or losing their Chromebooks, which must be reported as such.
Will the pause be permanent?
News of the pause drew bipartisan criticism from at least two federal lawmakers, The Hill reported, with U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) speaking out against it.
Baldwin called the pause a move “in the wrong direction" that will exacerbate her state's workforce shortage, while Collins said she urged Chavez-DeRemer last week to reverse the proposed elimination, The Hill reported.
There have been no signs that the Labor Department is looking to reconsider. Despite calling the move a pause, the Trump Administration has strongly signalled its desire to eliminate the Job Corps program entirely.
Montana Public Radio reported earlier this month that the administration’s budget request to Congress for the upcoming fiscal year calls the Job Corps a “failed experiment” and proposes ending the program.
Thursday's Labor Department statement echoed that.
"The department’s decision aligns with the President’s FY 2026 budget proposal and reflects the Administration’s commitment to ensure federal workforce investments deliver meaningful results for both students and taxpayers," the statement said.
That budget proposal has yet to become law. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which House Republicans passed last week, has yet to pass the Senate.
The Labor Department's pause appears to bring the elimination of Job Corps one step closer in the meanwhile.
All previous material on the main Job Corps website appeared to have been removed — including pages for the individual centers, such as Keystone and Red Rock — and the only remaining page offered links to DOL pages with career advice "Beyond Job Corps."
A secondary site, info.joinjobcorps.com, was still active Friday afternoon, but nothing appears to have been posted on the official Job Corps Facebook page since Jan. 20, the day Trump was inaugurated.
An FAQ handout from the Labor Department said the pause in Job Corps operations took effect Thursday when the agency halted contracts at the 99 contract-operated centers.
"Center operators began implementing transition plans to mobilize students safely to their home of record and suspend program activities. Funds will be used to pause program operations, which includes managing facilities, maintaining student records and ensuring students are connected with necessary employment and program resources," the FAQ page said.
The Labor Department said it will arrange transportation and cover costs to transfer students back to their homes by June 30.
Human impact feared
King acknowledges the importance of statistics, but she also says the focus on numbers — and the sudden pause — don't take into account how the move will affect students who have thrived under the program, or could.
She spoke of one student whose custodial grandmother died, and whose father did not want to care for him.
The student has been successful in his Job Corps classes and is awaiting admission into the U.S. Army at the end of June.
Until then, she said, he is effectively homeless, and other students may face similar problems — as could potential students in years to come.
"When everyone else said no, we said yes," King said of the Job Corps program.
