While this is a proxy for labor and non labor costs, it is considered realistic since in the U.S., the use of workforce full time equivalents provide estimates within a few percentage points of those calculated with labor and non labor costs.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and several other foundations funded a series of studies and pilot projects in the early 2000s to expand build a network of career ladders and mobility for workers through skills training and the use of workforce intermediaries, as described by Robert Giloth.