NEIGHBOURHOOD INFLUENCE ON JOB SEARCH AND JOB FINDING METHODS
| Published date | 01 March 1983 |
| Date | 01 March 1983 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1983.tb00122.x |
| Author | Alan McGregor |
NEIGHBOURHOOD INFLUENCE ON
JOB
SEARCH AND JOB
FINDING METHODS’
ALAN MCGREGOR*
IN
the
1960s
and early
1970s
many studies
of
the mechanics
of
job-search behaviour
were undertaken, often in connection with the broader research problem of analysing
the experiences
of
redundant workers. (See, for example, Reid
1972;
Herron
1975).
In
general, the emphasis was
on
the two job-search issues. First, to what extent are
‘inefficient’ job-search channels utilised leading
to
a consequent rise in frictional
unemployment? Here, the debate tended to revolve around the then widely accepted
division of methods into formal and informal, where informal tended to be associated
with inefficiency. This equation has been the subject
of
some criticism. (see, Rees
1966).
Second, how effective was the public employment service as an intermediate
agent in the labour market, and could its effectiveness be improved to secure lower
levels of frictional unemployment, better matching etc?
The emphasis in this paper is on a distributional issue relating to the complex of
factors which explains variations in neighbourhood unemployment rates
within
urban
areas. Whereas it is now generally accepted that the major influence on the variation
in intra-urban unemployment rates is the variation
in
the labour force composition of
neighbourhoods this does not rule out the possibility that residence in particular kinds
of
neighbourhoods may be a source
of
disadvantage in the labour market. The
disadvantage considered in this paper is related to job search and job finding methods.
Various authors (see, for example, Doeringer
1968;
Hilaski
1971,
McGregor
1977;
Bramley
1979)
have tendered the hypothesis that residence in high unemployment
or
poverty areas is associated with a low
flow
of
job information through the important
informal network and that this leads,
in
turn, to difficulties in finding work. This
informal network is a very important source
of
job information, particularly for
manual workers. However, very little empirical light has been thrown on this
hypothesis and no British study appears
to
have been undertaken
to
date.
In the first section
of
the paper the possible links between neighbourhood
characteristics and job search methods are developed and relevant empirical studies
are drawn upon. Next, some statistical analysis is presented based
on
the experiences
of job-seekers
in
Glasgow. Finally, the conclusions of the study are discussed.
I.
NEIGHBOURHOOD INFLUENCES
ON
JOB
SEARCH
The mechanics
of
job search can be split into three processes which may be
separated for conceptual purposes but which may merge
in
the real world. These
processes can be listed as follows:
(1)
The location of a vacancy.
(2)
The evaluation of a vacancy.
(3)
The securing
of
a vacancy.
Items
(1)
and
(2)
correspond
to
the notions
of
search at the extensive and intensive
margins respectively (see Rees
1966).
The existence of these separate processes
complicates the consideration
of
job-search methods and channels. For example, an
individual may see a vacancy advertised
in
a newspaper (stage
1).
ask a neighbour
*Lecturer in Labour Economics, Department
of
Social and Economic Research, Glasgow
University.
91
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