Identifying the relative mobility prospects of a variety of household employment structures, 1981-1991

The author presents evidence of a relationship between household employment structure and relative rates of mobility. She draws on Census of Populatio n data for 1981 and 1991 from the Office for National Statistics Longitudin al Study and cross-sectional Sample of Anonymised Records microdata for 199 1. These data are used to demonstrate the shifts in household employment co mposition, by region, for a subpopulation of 'nuclear family' households. T he results indicate that households with more than one earner demonstrate a lower propensity to be spatially mobile than do 'traditional' male-breadwi nner households. The implication is that differential opportunities and con straints, which are conferred by residential location and all forms of mobi lity-residential, occupational, and sociospatial-operate, at least in part, as a function of household employment structure and the evolution of house hold structure across both time (the life course) and space (home and work locations). The author opens up the analysis of Census of Population data t o issues both of intrahousehold and of inter-household mobility as a means of sensitising migration research to issues which call for further in-depth qualitative investigation.