Labor Markets, Employment, and Crime

 Social scientists generally agree that unemployment, especially persistent unemployment, leads to individual poverty and that residential concentrations of poverty lead to higher crime. However, studies about the relationship between unemployment and crime have produced inconsistent results. Labor Markets, Employment, and Crime examines whether other economic factors must affect the crime rate in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Does a person's occupation condition his or her routine daily activities? What distinguishes between good jobs (primary-sector jobs) and bad jobs (secondary-sector jobs)? Applying control theory and bonding theory, the researchers examined whether primary-sector employees would be more likely to build attachments and commitments to the job and secondary-sector employees would be less likely. The analysis revealed neighborhoods with high levels of labor market instability had significantly higher rates of violent crime, property crime, poverty, and income inequality.