Self-contained Labour Areas: A Proposed Delineation and Classification by Degree of Rurality

One of the most common terms in economic and social reporting is that of "labour market". This concept is normally used with two main connotations, which to some extent overlap. The first emphasizes a set of employment norms, practices and trends that are in some cases specific to certain occupations or industries. The second connotation emphasizes the spatial dimension of the market, as the geographic area in which a multitude of labour activities occur. In this bulletin, our focus is on this second aspect: we identify a set of self-contained labour areas (SLAs), which in broad terms can be described as geographic spaces in which the majority of the residents in the labour force also have their place of work.