THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPATIAL MISMATCH AND JOB ACCESSIBILITY AMONG LOW-INCOME WORKERS IN PENANG ISLAND, MALAYSIA

Abstract Low-income households residing in areas distant from job opportunities face limited job accessibility due to the presence of spatial mismatch. The objective of the study was to ascertain the presence of spatial mismatch and evaluate the extent of job accessibility among the respondents chosen among low-income workers who are working and living in Penang Island, Malaysia. A quantitative survey was conducted among 306 respondents from low-income households who were registered in the eKasih welfare programme in Penang in 2016. The respondents were selected using stratified random sampling based on a specific ratio. The study aims to analyze the spatial distribution of respondents' home and working locations in order to evaluate their job accessibility from their residential areas, using the geocode data obtained from the survey. Subsequently, an investigation was conducted to assess the job accessibility factors, including the distance between respondents' residence and workplace, the mode of transportation chosen, and the duration of the commute. The research findings suggest that there is a spatial mismatch among respondents’ residential areas in suburban areas. However, respondents in both urban and suburban areas rely largely on their individual vehicles. A significant portion of the population depends on motorcycles as their primary mode of mobility. Hence, it is imperative for housing and transportation policy to incorporate a strategic approach to alleviate spatial mismatch, as well as improving public transportation services to attract the low-income workers to choose public transport to access jobs.