A Spatial Analysis of Job Openings and Access in a U.S. Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This article presents a study of spatial distribution of job openings and spatial variation in job accessibility in the Boston Metropolitan Area. The most striking finding is that despite decades of employment decentralization, job openings suitable for less-educated job seekers are still relatively concentrated in the central city. This is due to the fact that the great majority of job openings are vacancies resulting from turnover, the spatial concentration of which reflects the spatial concentration of current employment. A related finding is that for a given transportation mode, less-educated job seekers who reside in the central city still have, on average, somewhat better access to job openings than those who reside at the periphery of the metropolitan area. However, accessibility differentials among locations are small as compared to accessibility differentials between transportation modes. For job seekers who can travel by car, the majority of residential locations will allow them to have an access level higher than the average. For job seekers who depend on public transit, on the other hand, very few residential locations will allow them to have an above-average access level. These findings have important policy implications.