Post-Code Selection? Employers’ Use of Address-Based Information Shortcuts in Recruitment Decisions, DWP Research Report

Research to investigate whether area-based discrimination exists and is part of the explanation for worklessness in deprived areas.
Between the mid-1990s and the onset of the 2007/08 economic crisis a strong labour demand appeared to coexist with high levels of worklessness, especially concentrated in deprived areas. Area-based discrimination by employers is one suggested cause of spatially concentrated worklessness, but there is currently limited evidence to support this. This research was commissioned to investigate whether area-based discrimination exists and is part of the explanation for worklessness in deprived areas. The work also considers the value of using employer information networks to combat inaccurate stereotypical perceptions by employers. The project involved a literature review as well as qualitative fieldwork and an analysis of quantitative data.