Many of the tasks involved in looking for a job these days involve sharing and storing digital data. Digital technology is now required for job seekers to research employers, store resumes, complete applications, and schedule interviews. What is the employment process for people who are living on the poverty line, without reliable access to the Internet or mobile phones? We focus on technology maintenance, the continuous work required to stay digitally connected, to understand how low-income job seekers in northern California manage the circulation and storage of information. We incorporate the concept of delegation from Latour to explore how people consciously consider who or what entities are responsible for technology maintenance, as this varies by government policies related to digital subsidies. This article draws novel connections between the influence of government policy on technology maintenance and how both the policies and digital inequalities shape impoverished job seekers’ choices around sharing and storage practices.

如今，找工作涉及的许多任务涉及共享和存储数字数据。现在，求职者需要数字技术来研究雇主，存储简历，完成申请并安排面试。对于生活在贫困线而无法可靠访问互联网或手机的人们，其就业过程是怎样的？我们专注于技术维护，即保持数字连接所需的连续工作，以了解北加州的低收入求职者如何管理信息的流通和存储。我们纳入了委托的概念来自拉图尔（Latour）的作者，探讨人们如何有意识地考虑谁或哪些实体负责技术维护，因为这取决于与数字补贴相关的政府政策。本文在政府政策对技术维护的影响与政策和数字不平等如何塑造贫困求职者在共享和存储实践方面的选择之间建立了新颖的联系。