REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT AND LABOR MOBILITY IN THE UK

This paper surveys analysis of the relationship between regional unemp loyment and labour mobility in the UK. A notable feature is the recent rise in the volatility of unemployment in the high wage region of the South East. This is explained by the relative growth of personal sect or mortgage indebtedness in that region and greater consumption demand sensitivity to interest rate shocks. Regional unemployment rate diffe rences are largely determined in the manual labour market and show onl y slight evidence of cyclically corrected convergence. This is underpi nned by relatively low migration amongst manual workers, and little se nsitivity of out-migration to regional labour market slack. Two region s have experienced persistent employment growth and am-acted significa nt immigration of non-manual labour to low unemployment and increasing relative wage labour markets. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.