Job Opportunities

Is there a correlation between exposure to racially integrated, low poverty areas and employment outcomes? Does moving from a poor, inner city neighborhood to a less poor area bring greater proximity to job opportunities, or contacts with new networks of neighbors who might steer movers to jobs? Does living in a community where more people work increase motivation to work or to increase income? In examining these questions for the MTO experimental movers, this brief finds that factors in addition to where people live affect their employment and earnings.

Panelists discussed what is missing from the debate about improving the income, benefits, and related work supports for low-wage workers, especially those with children.

Spatial factors and location are often missed, but critical, pieces of the puzzle in developing public and private policies that support working families. This paper summarizes factors determining locational decisions of businesses and workers, as well as local economic growth, and suggests how employer needs as well as opportunities for low income workers might be served by successful policies in the areas of housing, transportation, education and workforce development. There are notable differences in the patterns of work and employment within and across metro areas, implying that there is no single strategy or national blueprint that will work everywhere.

While most low-income parents work steadily, many find it difficult to support their families in jobs that offer few benefits or links to public supports. At the same time, employers are balancing their financial and productivity objectives in an increasingly competitive market. The Urban Institute, through support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, sponsored a May 2007 roundtable bringing together business leaders, practitioners, policy experts, researchers, and advocates to discuss the appropriate public and private roles in supporting working families. This document lays out the salient issues and themes that arose and summarizes the papers that were prepared for the event.

In the shift from a natural resource-based to a knowledge-based economy, there are winners and losers at the local level. Why do some communities manage to retain employers, and even attract new employers, while others seem to be left behind? This issue addresses the relationship between workforce development and economic development. The highlighted reports present findings about the role of adult education in workforce development and about how sector strategies are addressing worker and employer needs at local and regional levels.