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Social Networks and the Employment Problem of the Urban Poor

David A. Reingold

This paper investigates the link between social networks and the ability to find a job through a personal contact among adult inner city residents.  Using data collected by the National Opinion research Center that interviewed 2,490 adult inner city residents, the impact of netwrk structure and composition on finding a job through word-of-mouth is estimated.  Significant ethnic difference in the rate of finding jobs through word-of-mouth were found, as will as interesting ethnic and racial differences in the way social networks operate to connect job seekers and job vacancies.  Together, these findings suggest that social networks account for some of the employment problems that many inner city residents face.

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