Barriers to Employment Opportunity
Released in 2014 as part of a program called the Opportunity Collaborative, the Barriers to Employment Opportunities in the Baltimore Region Study examines the barriers to employment opportunities affecting individuals in the Baltimore region. The study is based on a review of literature, interviews with workforce development managers, and a survey of over 1,000 active job seekers in the Baltimore region. In this report, we define the scope of barriers to employment opportunity, determine the degree to which selected barriers affect populations and demographic sub-populations in our region, and identify opportunities to reduce barriers to employment opportunity. The results of the study indicate that job seekers in the Baltimore region face a complex array of barriers from a multitude of sources including financial burdens, industry and employer requirements, social issues, transportation difficulties, structural racism, and educational challenges.
Barriers to Employment Opportunity - 2019 Survey of Job Seekers Report
During the summer of 2019, BMC and local workforce agencies rereleased the survey from the 2014 Barriers to Employment study. The survey was carried out by workforce development board staff in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Harford, and Howard Counties as well as Baltimore City. Survey takers were clients of the local workforce boards who have or are currently utilizing American Job Center services. In total, the survey yielded over 750 respondents in the region.
The results of this survey were summarized in the updated Barriers to Employment Opportunity - 2019 Survey of Job Seekers Report. Building on the work of the Opportunity Collaborative, this report includes current data and an analysis of how challenges have shifted over the past five years.