Black Applicants, Black Employees, and Urban Labor Market Policy

Abstract

In this paper, we use data from a new survey of employers in four large metropolitan areas to analyze the flow of black applicants to different kinds of employers and the extent to which these applicants are hired. The results show that less-educated black workers apply less frequently for jobs in the suburbs than in the central cities, especially at smaller establishments. Their lower tendency to apply for suburban jobs seems to be mostly accounted for by factors associated with higher costs of applying and/or lower information flows. Black applicants, especially less-educated black males, are also less likely to be hired at suburban establishments. These results suggest the need for policies to improve the access of less-educated blacks to suburban employers, and also more effective enforcement of antidiscrimination laws in suburban establishments.