Where Delray Beach Works

A Resident-Jobs Mismatch

Delray has a high employment density, or jobs per resident worker, compared to communities across the state. There are more jobs in Delray than there are employed residents. The US Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) data tracks where workers live and work. The most recent data for the LEHD is 2015 and captures employment data slightly differently than the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The LEHD indicates a significant mismatch between the jobs located within the City, and where employed residents actually work. The key indicators of the LEHD Inflow/Outflow analysis are as follows.

n Although 31,853 employed residents live in the City, only 4,803 (15 percent) of them work in Delray; n This means that 21,643 employed residents are employed by businesses somewhere else in the County; n This also means that 27,050 jobs within the City are filled by workers who live outside the City; n The average commute time for resident employed workers in Delray is over 26 minutes, indicating a significant portion leave the City to work each day.

This analysis does not definitively mean that all resident workers employed outside Delray leave each day the telecommuting data indicates that if a high percentage of the local population mirrors national trends, they increasingly work from home each day. However, the Inflow/Outflow analysis does indicate that continuing this pattern, without a significant change in working locations, cannot be sustained, risks exacerbating Delray’s traffic congestion issues or negatively affecting its quality of life.