Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/MarkRubin

As the work requirements and time limits of welfare reform go into effect around the country, decisionmakers need reliable information at a local scale about the opportunities and challenges confronting welfare-recipients as they attempt to find jobs and achieve economic independence. This report presents a cross-site analysis based on data from five metropolitan areas. The characteristics and geographic distribution of city welfare recipients are compared to the skill requirements and geographic distribution of employment opportunities regionwide. Differences between these five sites illustrate why welfare-to-work strategies must be “customized” to the local geography, strengthening the information and transportation linkages between areas of entry-level employment and the neighborhoods where welfare recipients are located.

This report introduces significant issues involved in building job skills and increasing employment for poor residents of the District of Columbia. Its purpose is to serve as a starting point for discussion among public and private decisionmakers. The report draws upon readily available data and nationally recognized experts to outline the challenges and opportunities to expand employment among District residents. The report profiles District residents who are unemployed or underemployed, discusses important trends in the availability of jobs in the city and surrounding suburbs, and provides a framework for exploring employment and training initiatives.

Workforce development and job linkage strategies face intense pressures today, as a result of welfare reform. To be successful, they need to address the real barriers that stand in the way of employment and self-sufficiency for people with limited skills and education. This report is part of a series of studies that analyze demographic and socio-economic conditions in the Washington metropolitan area from a detailed spatial perspective. It uses 1990 Census data to describe where low-skilled adults work and live in our region and how residential location may influence access to employment for low-skilled workers.

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