This paper examines previous studies on the labor market, and reviews research issues concerning its spatial structure.
In labor market studies, it has been recognized that the labor market is not a homogeneous structure but a segmented one, due to differences within the labor force in terms of wage disparity, labor movement, and so on. In recent years, much research indicates that the boundaries of the segmentation of the labor market are fluid and indistinct. Labor economists are not very interested in issues related to spatial relations.
In Geography, labor market studies have changed in scope since the 1970s. In previous labor market research, there was a tendency to emphasize locational change of manufacturing industry and rural districts, using the local labor market as an approach in dealing with research issues in each field. As a result, these studies did not focus on the spatial structure of the labor market on a national or district scale.
In order to further develop research methods in this field, several issues need to be resolved.
Firstly, we must examine the spatial structure of the labor market on a national or district scale. It is necessary to regard the local labor market as a labor market area formed by the interaction of its supply and demand-side, and to examine its spatial structure. One of the most effective methods to understand its spatial structure is via cluster analysis which describes local labor markets on variables representing labor market conditions.
Secondly, we must consider the mechanisms that operate the spatial structure of the labor market. Although the influence of the location of industrial job opportunities mainly affects the labor market, we need to consider other factors to explain its spatial structure. It is necessary to examine the labor supply structure in each local labor market, the distance from the central city, changes in industrial structures, locality, longstanding conventions, and so on. Since the 1970s, the major proportion of employees in the employment structure of Japan has shifted from the manufacturing to the service sector. Following the collapse of the "bubble economy", the number of young people entering the labor market as non-regular workers has increased in metropolitan areas. When we analyze factors other than the core-periphery relationship, it is expected that the mechanisms causing regional differences in labor market conditions, such as unemployment and labor supply and demand, will become increasingly clear.
