A new report says fewer jobs are available to some Omahans depending on where they live in the metro area.
The Brookings Institution report looks at how many jobs are available within an average commute distance in the nation’s 96 largest metro areas. The report identifies Omaha’s average commute distance as 6 miles. Researchers found that between 2000 and 2012, about 7 percent fewer jobs were available within a 6 mile commute distance of Omaha metro residents.
Natalie Holmes, one of the report’s authors, says that disconnect affects unemployment rates and economic outcomes.
“Based on previous research, we know that if you have jobs nearby you’re more likely to work, and you tend to spend less time unemployed, or the amount of time you spend looking for a job between jobs is shorter. And that’s especially true for low-income workers.”
Holmes says the report shows cities should think regionally about their residents’ needs.
“It’s really important for communities to think regionally in terms of connecting their systems, economic development, transportation, housing, and acknowledgement that you have these regional systems but they’re made up of constellations of communities, and they’re fundamentally interconnected.”
For Omaha’s high-poverty areas, the number of jobs within the 6 mile distance declined 9.5 percent between 2000 and 2012. For majority-minority neighborhoods, the disparity was nearly 11 percent.
More information on the report, and a breakdown by neighborhood, is available at www.brookings.edu.