( CNN ) Think it 's taking you longer to get to work ? Has your job moved farther from your home ? You 're probably right on both counts . A new study from the Brookings Institution says the number of jobs within a typical commute distance for residents in major metro areas of the U.S. fell by 7 % between 2000 and 2012 . Despite trends that indicate a greater desire for millennials to live in dense urban areas , suburbs are still doing well , according to some researchers . Employers have tended to move toward the suburbs , away from city cores -- and away from many workers , the study says . Moreover , even if you already live in the suburbs , it does n't mean you live close to the suburb where the jobs are . `` Suburban residents saw the number of jobs within a typical commute distance drop by 7 % , more than twice the decline experienced by the typical city resident ( 3 % ) , '' Elizabeth Kneebone and Natalie Holmes wrote in the study 's summary . The issue disproportionately affects poor and minority residents , the authors added . `` Residents of high-poverty and majority-minority neighborhoods experienced particularly pronounced declines in job proximity , '' they wrote , observing that 61 % of high-poverty tracts and 55 % of majority-minority neighborhoods experienced declines in job proximity between 2000 and 2012 . High-poverty neighborhoods were defined as tracts with poverty rates above 20 % . The Brookings study comes as metro areas are coping with increased stresses on infrastructure . Tuesday 's New York Times was filled with letters complaining about a subway fare increase and crowds at all hours in the New York system . In Atlanta , one suburban county recently added mass transit for the first time since 2010 -- even as the Georgia legislature has been gutting portions of a transportation bill . And a Detroit man garnered nationwide headlines in February because of his 21-mile commute -- a hefty chunk of which he walked due to a lack of transit options . The Brookings study observes that solving commuting issues `` will require collaborative solutions '' across jurisdictions . `` The dynamics that have shaped these job proximity patterns across and within metro areas did not emerge by themselves , '' Kneebone and Holmes wrote ( PDF ) . `` Local , regional , and state leaders put them in play ( whether purposefully or by default ) through policy decisions . To foster growth that is truly regional in its reach and that does not exacerbate inequality or leave low-income and minority residents behind , communities will need to coordinate and collaborate as they plan and implement policy decisions that affect metropolitan development patterns . ''
A new Brookings study says proximity to jobs is declining . The lack of proximity forces longer commutes in both distance and time . Comment: