Community Wage and the Regions

Abstract

Unemployment is a national problem that nevertheless manifests differently in different regions. Despite evidence for a regional focus active labour market policies and programmes are mainly targeted to individuals rather than to individuals in their geographic context. The Community Wage initiative together with the appointment of regional commissioners illustrates an increasing awareness that local labour market issues need to be addressed by labour market programmes. This paper examines the evidence for a regional focus and suggests a research programme, which looks at the benefits of labour market programmes on communities rather than individuals.