Urban Labor Markets and Their Consequences for Black Employment

摘要

Annual Housing Survey data are analyzed to consider the impacts of places of residence and employment in central cities and suburbs upon the functioning of urban labor markets and upon the employment of blacks in particular. The data reveal that central city labor is underutilized and that black households residing in the center have special employment problems. Central city residents have lower work - force - participation rates than residents of suburbs, and the differences are most evident for teenagers and young adults under 25, and especially for blacks in these groups. Separation and divorce rates are high for black families in the central city, and black women who are heads of households exhibit low participation rates, lower than black women in married households. The location of employment and residences also affects wage rates. Generally, white workers earn less at a suburban job than for the same job in the central city. A wage differential appears in favor of blacks for jobs in the suburbs, suggesting that black workers must be compensated for the costs of accessibility to employment in the area. Commuting data reveal that blacks spend more time commuting than whites and that black unemployment cannot be perceived as an unwillingness to commute to jobs in the suburbs. The underrepresentation of blacks in suburban employment might be explained by high search costs confronting blacks who are seeking employment or by more severe employment discrimination in these areas. Public policies which enable blacks to gain access to suburban housing, and policies which reduce employment discrimination, it is concluded, will yield sizable welfare gains to black households. Appendices contain study data on participation rates and present theoretical models of urban labor markets. (Author abstract modified).