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Inner City Firms and the Employment Problem of the Urban Poor:
Are Poor People Really Excluded from Jobs Located in Their Own Neighborhoods?
David A. Reingold

This paper investigates whether the employment problem of the urban poor has been exacerbated by inner city employers and their use of hiring practices that limit local employment opportunities for residents of these neighborhoods.   By using the Urban Poverty and Family Life Study's survey of Chicago area employers, this paper estimates the effects of neighborhood poverty on a firm's recruitment and screening practices, while also estimating the impact of hiring practices and neighborhood poverty on the employment of local residents.  The results suggest that the level of poverty in the neighborhood in which a firm is located does not alter screening practices, but does significantly reduce recruitment through personal referrals and media advertisements.  However, these different recruitment patterns do not significantly reduce a firm's employment of neighborhood residents.  Nor does the level of neighborhood poverty in which a firm is located effect its employment of neighborhood residents.  Overall, these results suggest that inner city residents are nor excluded from jobs located in their own neighborhoods.

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