Journal of Rural Studies 19 (2003) 187–200 Unemployment duration and employability in remote rural labour markets Colin Lindsay a , Martin McCracken a,b , Ronald W. McQuaid a, * a Employment Research Institute, Napier University, Redwood House, 66 Spylaw Road Edinburgh EH10 5BR, UK b School of Management, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK Abstract This paper analyses the barriers to work faced by long- and short-term unemployed people in remote rural labour markets. Applying a broad concept of ‘employability’ as an analytical framework, it considers the attributes and experiences of 190 job seekers (22% of the registered unemployed) in two contiguous travel-to-work areas (Wick and Sutherland) in the northern HighlandsofScotland.Thelabourdemandsideofemployabilityisalsoconsideredthroughinterviewswith17employers.Thepaper identifies the specific job search and other employment problems faced by unemployed people living in isolated rural communities (labour supply); considers the perspective of employers (labour demand); and discusses potential policies to address the needs of unemployed individuals. Many job seekers were found to have gaps in generic and job-specific skills, whilst some (particularly males)werereluctanttopursueopportunitiesinnon-traditionalsectorsoftheeconomy.Theimportanceofinformaljobsearchand recruitment networks (which may exclude the young and the long-term unemployed) and the lack of access to formal employment services in remote areas also potentially contributed to labour market disadvantage. Holistic and client-centred solutions are requiredtoaddressthebarriersfacedbytheseruraljobseekers,includingadultbasiceducationprovision,flexibletrainingfocussing on skills and work experience with particular relevance to the new rural economy, and support services for job seekers in isolated areas.Thesesupply-sidepoliciesshouldbecombinedwithdemand-sidemeasurestostimulateendogenousandexogenousgrowthin isolated local economies. r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Unemployment; Employability; Labour markets; Remote rural areas 1. Introduction This paper considers the barriers to work faced by long-andshort-termunemployedpeopleinremoterural labour markets. Applying a broad concept of ‘employ- ability’ as an analytical framework, it reports the findings of research undertaken with registered unem- ployed people and recruiting employers in the Wick and Sutherland travel-to-work areas (TTWAs) in the north- ern Scottish Highlands. Rural labour markets in the United Kingdom, like those across Europe, have been experiencing a period of continuousandrapidchange(OECD,1996; Brydenand Bollman, 2000). The decline of primary sector agricul- tural and food-production industries has been accom- panied by increases in service employment, especially in tourism (Bontron and Lasnier, 1997; Meyer, 1997; Marsden, 1998). This economic transition has not been without its difficulties and instances of severe depriva- tion remain (Phimister et al., 2000; Shucksmith, 2000a). Indeed, it has been estimated that one in three individuals in rural Britain had experienced at least one period of poverty during the early-mid-1990s (Chapman et al., 1998). The tenacity of localised unemployment, and in particular long-term unemployment, has been cited as an important factor explaining the continuing problem of social exclusion in some rural areas (Cabinet Office, 2000; Shucksmith and Philip, 2000). Accordingly, a number of recent studies have sought to investigate the dynamics of the unemployment problem within these labour markets, resulting in the identification of a range of barriers to work faced by rural job seekers. These barriers include: demand-side problems related to industrial restructuring, geographical remoteness, and low population density; localised skills mismatches; an over-reliance on low-skilled, casual (often seasonal) *Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-131-455-5103. E-mail address: r.mcquaid@napier.ac.uk (R.W. McQuaid). 0743-0167/03/$-see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0743-0167(02)00067-0