Labour markets of postindustrial regions in the time of economic crisis on the example of South Wales and the Silesian Voivodeship - a comparative analysis

Abstract

Unfinished restructuring of the mining industry can be a source of social instability in the Silesian voivodeship in the coming years. Decreasing demand for coal, wider use of alternative energy sources, cheaper import of raw materials from Ukraine or Russia will lead to redundancies in this sector of economy. Moreover, the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol of which Poland is one of signatories, force Polish government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are produced during the coal combustion. This is another factor that may significantly affect the reduction of employment in the mining sector. Another danger facing the regional labour market is the replacement of the mining companies with the companies that represent the automotive industry. As a result a new monoculture is appearing on the local market of the Silesian voivodeship now. This industry is, as the recent economic crisis has showed, particularly exposed to economic fluctuations which lead to the structural unemployment. Therefore authorities should try to diversify the structure of the regional economy by new investments and not to allow to concentrate companies from the same sector on a small area. The Silesian voivodeship needs more jobs in the service and high technology sectors which would limit the migration of young, well-educated people. In the case of South Wales the share of these sectors in its economy is greater than in the case of the Silesian voivodeship. Despite this a large percentage of native inhabitants of South Wales decide to emigrate but at the same new ones from other parts of Wales and different parts of the UK come and settle down. This explains the positive net migration, as well as the positive natural increase. Despite this and despite the fact that the impact of the economic crisis on Wales was so drastic the increase in the unemployment rate during the crisis period was smaller in South Wales than in the Silesian voivodeship. This can be explained not only by more multicultural structure of its economy but also by the differences as far as the number of young people at the age of 15−24 who are economically active and the number of people working at part-time jobs is concerned. The labour markets of both of these regions have experienced negative consequences of the economic crisis, but in the case of South Wales unless the influx of new population had not been so significant these consequences would probably have been less severe. However, further research in this field is required.