Mapping internet activity in Australian cities during COVID-19 lockdown: how occupational factors drive inequality

2021 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence has accumulated that movement restrictions enacted to combat virus spread produce disparate consequences along socioeconomic lines. One explanation for this differential impact is the distribution of people into occupations that can be performed from home and may provide greater financial security. However, little is known about the nature and scale of shifting home-based work patterns and their geographic distribution, despite this being a likely determinant of the success of geographically defined COVID-19 lockdown strategies. We investigate the hypothesis that people engaged in financially secure employment are better able to adapt to mobility restrictions, due to common occupational factors. In the context of two Australian urban centres, we test this hypothesis by analysing changes to home-based internet usage and quantify the relationship between area-level measures of population income security, the ability to perform job requirements remotely, and the degree of transition to home-based work during COVID-19. Our analysis confirms that financial security in Australia is geographically clustered and concentrated. Income security is also correlated with increased internet traffic during work hours under lockdown, and home-based work patterns that persist post-lockdown. Our findings suggest that geographic diversity in preparedness for government-imposed restrictions should be factored into response planning and provision of social and economic support for residents within lockdown areas.
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