Local jobs overview
Summary of indicator
| Indicator Name | Local jobs |
| Indicator type | Supplementary |
| User Outcomes | Local opportunities |
Objective
To measure the density of local jobs across a given area, with higher density standards assisting in enhancing economic productivity, encouraging more sustainable patterns of travel, facilitating a more suitable mix of new dwellings and increasing occupational densities to support a more productive workforce.
Application guidance
Job density can be considered a proxy indicator for the amenity and vibrancy of an area. If job density is too sparse, then efficiency is lost, whereas a dense concentration of jobs supports innovation and productivity. High job densities in mixed-use areas support live-work neighbourhoods, also reducing travel times and promoting walking/cycling. Additionally, if a neighbourhood grows in population and services do not keep pace, there are fewer amenities and job opportunities per person, resulting in more competition and higher prices.
This indicator will support practitioners to understand the density of jobs in an area. Based on the outcome of this assessment, practitioners can determine capacity of an area to absorb more population, jobs and non-residential land-use, and demand for a range of services and amenities.
Practitioners can use the Job density in Travel Zone 2016 metric to measure the employed persons count per square kilometre within the joint effective land area by travel zone.
Metric
Job density in Travel Zone 2016
Related indicators
Recommendation
To further refine the measurement of job density, assessment could exclude residential mesh blocks within travel zones. This, however, would exclude employment that also occurs in residential areas such as trades.