FINDING AN EASY ROUTE TO A NEW JOB

The author describes a survey conducted on a sample of unemployed school leavers recruited from three inner city careers offices in Birmingham and from one suburban office in Sutton Coldfield. In the first stage data were collected on time and distance that job-seekers were prepared to travel and on urban familiarity. In the second stage data were obtained on job search decisions. It was found that inner city residents applied for very few vacancies located anywhere on the periphery of the city, despite knowledge of some suitable bus routes and despite the availability of suburban vacancies. Suburban residents competed for inner city jobs but inner city residents did not seriously consider "reverse commuting" by public transport to peripheral opportunities. This study has demonstrated that despite a wider geographical distribution of discovered vacancies, the final pattern of job search travel is concentrated in highly familiar districts and limited to a very small number of "known" bus routes. It is concluded that, in this case, familiarity with the city and perception of travel provides a more sensitive indication of likely job search patterns than conventional measures of accessibility (i.e. Time and distance). This conclusion implies that certain local authority policies on employment and transport should be reconsidered. (TRRL)

  • Availability:
  • Corporate Authors:

    Specialist and Professional Press

    Surrey House, 1 Throwley Way
    Sutton, Surrey SM1 4QQ,   England 
  • Authors:
    • Quinn, D J
  • Publication Date: 1984-10-11

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 14-16
  • Serial:
    • SURVEYOR
    • Volume: 163
    • Issue Number: 4814
    • Publisher: Hemming Group, Limited
    • ISSN: 0039-6303

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00393588
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
  • Files: ITRD, TRIS
  • Created Date: Apr 29 1985 12:00AM