Christa Larsen Knihy

Megatrends such as demographic change, globalisation and digitalisation influence all societal spheres, be it the economy, labour market, education or culture. Consequently, it is important to estimate how strong these effects are and collect qualitative information on the nature of their impact. Whilst the effects of demographic change and globalisation have already been broadly discussed, changes resulting from digital transformation have scarcely been reflected upon systematically, especially in the case of labour markets. Against this background, the European Network on Regional Labour Market Monitoring (EN RLMM) has chosen the digital transformation of societies and economies and its effects on labour as its guiding theme for 2016. Together with the members of the network, we seek to present the state of the current knowledge, specify first action requests and options and capture the relevance of digital transformation for regional and local labour market monitoring. The current anthology of the EN RLMM constitutes the first building block in this process: it brings together contributions discussing the effects of digital transformation on specific sectors and occupations as well as labour market target groups. Furthermore, it contains regional good practice examples describing and analysing the digital transformations of regions.

The experience of regional and local labour market observatories shows that information on some aspects of the labour market – such as the demand for skilled labour in certain sectors or spatial units – is difficult to obtain. In the recent years, ICT-related innovations have created new forms and types of data that can be used for enhancing the efficiency in several areas of economic activity. So far, the vast amount of unstructured data contained in the World Wide Web – Big Data – has been largely unexploited. However, as the available technology provides increasingly cost-effective solutions, it has become possible to provide services that have formerly been too expensive. Therefore, applying Big Data in labour market monitoring can provide innovative insights into the functioning of labour markets. Also the process data of Public Employment Services or Statistical Offices constitute a promising source of large amounts of data. The results of the analyses based on the different sources of data can be used to improve the efficiency of the labour market at large and the provision of services by governments and private enterprises. However, the attempts to use Big Data in the context of labour market monitoring have been relatively rare so far, even though a growing interest can be observed among researchers and practitioners alike. Against this background, the issues of collecting, elaborating, analysing and disseminating the information available on the Web urgently needed to be addressed – as did the associated ethical and legal issues concerned with data ownership and protection. This year’s Anthology of the EN RLMM covers these issues from the viewpoint of labour market researchers and practitioners in labour market observatories from different European regions and localities. The contributions provide first insights into new models and tools of labour market monitoring based on the usage of Big Data.

In the past years, sustainability has again become a theme in both academic and political discourses. Even though they often focus on green(ing) jobs and skills as recently emerged policy fields, also the different aspects of sustainable employment are increasingly receiving attention. As the labour market observatories face the challenge of capturing the developments on the regional and local labour markets in regard to green jobs/skills and sustainable employment, the EN RLMM anthology seeks to clarify different conceptual and methodological issues with the aim to advance regional and local labour market monitoring efforts in this field. The publication focuses on monitoring approaches concerned with jobs and skills in the green(ing) sectors and sustainable employment on the level of European regions and localities. It is explored, how the above mentioned issues can be integrated in the continuously conducted regional and local labour market monitoring and how different stakeholders on the regional and local level can use the generated labour market data for their steering and strategy development activities.

Transparency on the supply and demand of skills in a locality or region is crucial for employees, unemployed, training and placement organisations, as well as for enterprises and labour politics as all of these actors are influential for effective skills matching. In recent years, in numerous regions across Europe, skills monitoring has been implemented to provide this transparency. This anthology gives a broad overview on different approaches and good practice examples in regional or local skills monitoring. It also demonstrates how regional or local framework conditions can influence the implementation of specific concepts within skills monitoring.

The scope of informal economy and the forms of informal employment differ greatly between countries. Therefore, studying the role of informal employment in the labour market from a comparative perspective provides important insights into economic and social developments in regions and localities. The present publication discusses various concepts and definitions for capturing and analysing informal employment. Furthermore, it demonstrates how a broad variety of methods can be applied for conducting research on informal employment and explores the available data sources. Besides presenting innovative conceptual and methodological approaches towards analysing informal employment, the Anthology of the European Network on Regional Labour Market Monitoring (EN RLMM) discusses how these insights can be used for developing the Network’s concept for regional and local labour market monitoring (RLMM) further.

The world of work is undergoing rapid changes due to technological transformation, demographic shifts, and globalization. Contributions from ten European countries highlight that the degree and speed of these changes vary significantly across occupations, sectors, and geographical locations. To adapt, regional and local labour market actors must identify the necessary skills and competencies for the future workforce. Over 550 regional and local labour market observatories in Europe can play a crucial role in this process, leveraging their extensive experience in data collection, analysis, and integration. These observatories are well-connected within local networks and contribute to evidence-based labour market policies and regional strategy development. The contributions explore various approaches to skills and competence monitoring in different European regions, focusing on data sources, methodologies, and the role of observatories. This compilation provides an overview of current practices in labour market monitoring, serving as a valuable resource for establishing skills and competence frameworks at regional and local levels.

Information resulting from the monitoring of labour markets is an important source for evidence-based policy-making. However, local and regional labour market observatories often find it difficult to impart their information and knowledge to decision-makers so that it can be incorporated into the policy-making process. This anthology explores the mechanisms, which ensure the relevance of labour market information for policy-makers on the regional and local level. It presents cases of regional and local labour market observatories that have been successful in transferring their monitoring information into policy-making. In the descriptions of the cases, concepts from governance research are used to analyse how the successful connections between data provision and evidence-based policy-making are implemented.

Regional and local labour market observatories have long provided reliable information for decision-makers. Recently, their roles have expanded beyond data provision to include interpretation, evaluation, and mediation in governance and development. This shift fosters new alliances and networks, yet many observatories struggle with inadequate resources to meet these complex demands. Essential components for success include stable financing and a skilled workforce. Recognizing their contributions to governance and facilitating exchanges among various European actors is also vital. The publication investigates how changing conditions impact the functions of these observatories, the extent of their evolving roles, observable patterns across European countries, and the stability of new arrangements. It highlights where observatories require support to adapt and thrive in their expanded capacities.

Geographical mobility in Europe is a chance and a challenge for regional labour markets. There is an unknown potential for the economy as foreign labour markets may provide qualified workers and the freedom of movement brings more flexibility. On the other hand, national and regional politics face the challenge of developing systematic approaches for enhancing mobility and managing its consequences. Transparency of migration flows, a sound database and substantiated knowledge about geographical mobility is the prerequisite for all actors. Therefore this anthology provides a synopsis of the current state of the art from different countries and regions, including best practice examples and solution approaches.