SummaryThe recent recession had a marked impact on the rural labour market in Northern Ireland, particularly within remote rural areas. The extent to which this reflected the underlying economic structure is explored using shift‐share analysis. Remote rural areas suffered from the double impact of the industrial concentration of employment within certain industries and the regional redistribution of employment. They were severely impacted by the contraction in the construction sector and during the early period of the recession the performance of the manufacturing sector. Nevertheless, the labour market within remote rural areas recovered more rapidly compared to urban and accessible rural areas. In particular, the manufacturing sector had a strong positive influence during the recovery period within remote rural areas. The concentration of employment within goods‐producing sectors within Northern Ireland means that rural areas tend to respond more quickly to business cycle fluctuations. In order to reduce the susceptibility of rural areas to recessionary falls in demand it is desirable to build on the strengths of specific sectors that build on the asset base of rural areas, e.g. the development of new products and processes within the food and drinks industry that are primarily rural based.