[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #361: Diversity in Internet job searching

[Editor]

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/>
OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #361: Diversity in Internet job searching
November 20th, 2013

diversityAbout two weeks ago, the Joint Center for Political and 
Economic Studies released a report 
<http://www.jointcenter.org/research/broadband-and-jobs> entitled 
/Broadband and Jobs: African Americans Rely Heavily on Mobile Access and 
Social Networking in Job Search/. The report presents data from a May 
survey indicating that half of African American Internet users think the 
Internet is an important tool for finding a job, compared to about a 
third of all Internet users. But among African Americans who had used 
the Internet for job searching, almost half said they used their 
smartphone. Is this a good thing? While it likely means they are using 
social networking to increase their chances of finding a job, it could 
also mean they are passing up job searching tools that do not work well 
on a smartphone.

  * African Americans, jobs and the Internet
    <http://www.technicaljones.com/2013/11/technicaljones-africanamericans-jobs-internet/>
    (Talking Technology/Leroy Jones) "Dr. Horrigan [Senior Research
    Fellow at the Joint Center] discussed the report's findings at
    length, relating it to other data concerning broadband adoption and
    use. As he noted, African-Americans in particular seem to be
    interested in more than just search engines. They are increasingly
    using social networking to expand their network of job contacts and
    improve the probability of finding out about job opportunities."
  * Internet a critical job search tool for blacks, Joint Center study
    finds
    <http://www.afro.com/sections/news/afro_briefs/story.htm?storyid=80340>
    (Afro Briefs/Zenitha Prince) "Also, 35 percent of African Americans
    who were out of work within the past six years said they have used
    social networking sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook to look for a
    job, compared to 25 percent for all respondents. And, 47 percent of
    African Americans said they have used a smartphone for job hunting,
    compared to 36 percent of Latinos and 24 percent of Whites. Another
    key finding was that those who felt most confident about their
    digital skills were more likely to use the Web. Advocates said this
    suggests that increased access to broadband and expanded digital
    literacy is necessary to mitigate high rates of
    unemployment-especially since many employers are now posting jobs
    online only."
  * Broadband and jobs: African Americans rely heavily on mobile access
    and social networking in job search
    <http://www.jointcenter.org/sites/default/files/upload/research/files/Broadband%20and%20Jobs.pdf>
    [pdf] (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies) "Although
    smartphones make overall access levels for African Americans and
    Latinos comparable to levels for white Americans, home broadband
    adoption levels for African Americans and Latinos still lag behind
    the national average. Given that a larger screen (e.g., on a desktop
    or laptop) can be helpful in looking for job ads or filling out
    applications, alternative places to use the Internet such as
    libraries or community centers are still worthwhile even as mobile
    access increases."
  * Putting a face on the Joint Center report
    <http://lawandpoliticsofbroadband.com/2013/11/putting-a-face-on-the-joint-center-report/>
    (The Law and Politics of Broadband/Alton Drew) "It is tempting to
    argue that there is a failure in the market for laptops or personal
    computers, but it is difficult to draw that conclusion where the
    consumer opts for a $600 smart phone and a $60 a month data plan.
    Have American consumers with no broadband and computer at home been
    kept out of the laptop/wired broadband-at-home market or have they
    chosen to stay out? As the labor market continues to erect these
    technical barriers to employment, we will need more than government
    policies that promote literacy skills or call for more computers in
    a library. Wireless companies discontinuing subsidies of smart
    phones would be a start."

*/Access fact:/*

As the quotes above indicate, the Joint Center study found that public 
libraries are still very important Internet access points: "While the 
survey found that 15% of all adults had used the Internet at a public 
library in the previous 12 months, that figure was 21% for African 
Americans and 23% for Latinos. For poor Americans (those with household 
incomes less than $15,000 per year), 24% have used the Internet at a 
public library in the past year."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The */OPLIN 4cast/* is a weekly compilation of recent headlines, topics, 
and trends that could impact public libraries. You can subscribe to it 
in a variety of ways, such as:

  * *RSS feed.* You can receive the OPLIN 4cast via RSS feed by
    subscribing to the following URL:
    http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2.
  * *Live Bookmark.* If you're using the Firefox web browser, you can go
    to the 4cast website (http://www.oplin.org/4cast/) and click on the
    orange "radio wave" icon on the right side of the address bar. In
    Internet Explorer 7, click on the same icon to view or subscribe to
    the 4cast RSS feed.
  * *E-mail.* You can have the OPLIN 4cast delivered via e-mail (a'la
    OPLINlist and OPLINtech) by subscribing to the 4cast mailing list at
    http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast.


OPLIN 4Cast
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20131120/7a8a5e14/attachment-0003.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: kubrickheader.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 38379 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20131120/7a8a5e14/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: diversity.png
Type: image/png
Size: 34635 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20131120/7a8a5e14/attachment-0003.png>