Local Labour Market Areas Research Articles

The changing spatial distribution of socio-economic groups employed in manufacturing in Great Britain, 1971–1981

In this paper an attempt is made to study the spatial division of labour in Britain, through an investigation of the changing structure of employment in the manufacturing sector between 1971 and 1981. The separate impacts of loss in the volume of manufacturing employment, change in the balance between production and non-production activities in the occupational structure and the spatial shift of the population employed in manufacturing upon spatial variations in manufacturing employment change are tentatively identified. Data on the socio-economic composition of the population employed in manufacturing from the Small Area Statistics of the Censuses of Population for 1971 and 1981 are used to measure the impact of these processes at the local labour market area (LLMA) scale and to draw conclusions for the future employment prospects of different parts of Britain.

‘Job shortfalls’ in British local labour market areas: A classification of labour supply and demand trends, 1971–1981

Owen D. W., Gillespie A. E. and Coombes M. G. (1984) ‘Job short falls’ in British local labour market areas: a classification of labour supply and demand trends, 1971–1981, Reg. Studies 18, 469–488. Using data from the Censuses of Population for 1971 and 1981, this paper applies the ‘labour market accounts’ methodology to the analysis of change in labour demand and supply over the decade in local labour market areas (LLMAs). A cluster analysis of the components of demand and supply change is performed, and LLMAs with similar characteristics identified. An attempt is then made to explain the spatial distribution of these clusters by reference to the size, functional status and regional location of their members.

Skill Shortages in a Local Labour Market—the Coventry Case

While unemployment is reaching new post‐war record levels, concern is being expressed about apparent skill shortages in established occupations in many local labour market areas. In Coventry, for example, employment in the engineering industry fell by 9,500 between 1971 and 1976 whilst simultaneously personnel managers were expressing concern about problems in filling vacancies. A number of indicators have been examined to determine whether a shortage situation does exist in the Coventry area and proposals to remedy the situation found are suggested. Attention is also drawn to the implications for general employment prospects in the local economy if action is not taken.

Labour market areas in Great Britain: Developments since 1961

Since employment problems vary widely between individual localities, the definition of local labour market areas is of considerable importance for employment policy. The paper describes the results of studies undertaken to identify changes in self-contained labour market areas (LMAs) throughout Great Britain between 1961 and 1971. LMAs are defined by the application of a gravity formula to commuter flows between areas. The number of LMAs fell by one third over the decade, reflecting longer average work journeys. LMAs tended to combine on stable and predictable lines, through the strengthening of their main previous commuter links. The studies also show marked contrasts in LMA patterns between the central and peripheral regions of Britain. Most of the conurbations comprise a number of separate LMAs (some of them extending far into the surrounding countryside) and thus cannot be regarded as unified labour markets. Over one half of the 25 largest LMAs are located outside the conurbations, representing large self-contained economic communities which are inadequately recognised in conventional geographical categories. The paper also notes recent changes in the Department of Employment's “travel to work areas” based on similar criteria. Finally, it seems likely that LMAs have continued to expand since 1971 as the result of interconnected developments in housing, employment and transport.

The use and definition of Travel-to-Work Areas in Great Britain: Some problems

Ball R. M. (1980) The use and definition of Travel-to-Work Areas in Great Britain: some problems, Reg. Studies 14, 125–139. The Department of Employment delimit Travel-to-Work Areas (groupings of local employment office areas) for the purpose of presenting statistics on unemployment for relatively self-contained areas. Such an approach has also formed the basis of a more general conceptualisation of local labour market areas for use in local and subregional employment analyses, Assisted Area and Local Government boundary delimitation exercises, and studies of migration. In July 1978, the Department subjected the existing Travel-to-Work Areas to a comprehensive review using journey-to-work data from the 1971 Census. In this paper, it is argued that the basis of such a revision, apparent changes in aggregate journey-to-work behaviour over the most recent inter-censal period, must be carefully interpreted in the light of a number of largely undocumented data constraints.