Unemployment and Access to Internet

According to the Pew Research Center, 90% of US adults use the internet as of 2019, compared to early 2000, when only half of all adults were online. The internet has changed our habits in many areas of life, particularly social and professional connections, communication, work, shopping, and research. In addition, the internet is widely used by both employers in recruitment and selection processes and by job seekers looking for opportunities.

Several factors are known to impact the rate internet use, such as income, education, and community type. The internet increases the efficiency of information search and exchange, but those who do not have access to the internet may be at a distinct disadvantage, particularly when searching for employment. By identifying geographic locations with lower than average internet access numbers, intentional strategies for employment outreach can be developed for a targeted area.

The boundaries of Detroit are made clear by the accessibility and unemployment disparities between the city and its suburbs. The data shows Detroit as a prime candidate for intervention as it has high unemployment and low household internet accessibility compared to the country and the surrounding suburbs. Providing analysis at both census tract and county levels has proven to be valuable. As seen on the country map showing data by county, it is not clear that Detroit has a much greater challenge in terms of internet accessibility and unemployment. To fully comprehend the disparity, looking at census tract data within the the case study maps allows for much greater detail exposing issues at a granular scale. It is apparent that Detroit is an enclave of inaccessibility within areas that reflect more of what is shown in Seattle, Washington. Seattle, in comparison has random distribution of inaccessibility and unemployment. Areas of this nature would require a more targeted approach to those specific census tracts that read as having greater hurdles to internet accessibility. Below is a community resources map for Detroit that could help build a citywide plan to address the dispartiy.