Job Displacement and the Duration of Joblessness: The Role of Spatial Mismatch

Abstract

This paper explores rich longitudinal data to gain a better understanding of the importance of spatial mismatch in lower-paid workers’ job search. The data infrastructure at our disposal allows us to investigate the impact on a variety of job search-related outcomes of localized and individual-specific job accessibility measures using identification strategies that mitigate the impact of residential self-selection. Our results suggest that better access to jobs causes a statistically significant, but modest decrease in the duration of joblessness among lower-paid displaced workers, while an abundance of competing searchers for those jobs increases duration modestly. Search durations for older workers, Hispanic workers, and those displaced from manufacturing jobs are especially sensitive to job accessibility.