When Work Moves Job Suburbanization and Black Employment - Conrad Miller

In recognition of Black History Month, Research Associate Conrad Miller of the University of California, Berkeley, summarizes his research (NBER Working Paper 24728) on how job migration between 1970 and 2000 contributed to rising Black unemployment. He finds that during this period, many jobs that had historically been associated located in urban areas moved to suburban locations. Blacks are less likely than Whites to work in suburban locations, so the shift of jobs to the suburbs exacerbated the racial employment gap. Transportation infrastructure projects that made suburban locations more attractive to employers contributed to this job migration.