1. Berthold Feldmann Eurostat
Labour Market Areas
Berthold Feldmann
Eurostat

2. Background
Labour markets do not follow administrative boundaries, since they are “functional regions”
Statistical analysis of NUTS data may miss important features of a region
Several Member States have invested considerable resources in the establishment of labour market area statistics
Europe-wide labour market area data would be a big step forward for many users
They would among others give valuable insights into the performance of regions and indicate the need for help underperforming regions

3. Defining Labour Market Areas (LMAs)
Tasks to be accomplished in order to identify LMAs
Collect data on commuting
Decide the regionalisation algorithm
Determine the threshold value of self containment
Decide on the proximity constraint
Certainly the options taken in the Member States will vary from country to country, but it can be hoped that the resulting definition of LMAs show a certain similarity

4. Next steps ahead
Step 1: Collect information on existing definitions of LMAs
The boundaries
The method used
Frequency of modifications
Available data for LMAs
Step 2: Set up a Europe-wide nomenclature of LMAs
Step 3: transmit key statistics for LMAs

5. Thank you for your attention!
Any questions?