Establishment structure, job flows and rural employment

The gross flow of jobs into and out of regional labour markets numerically exceeds by many times the net employment change in the same period. There are systematically different regional patterns of change based on variation in establishment structure and behaviour The average size of establishments differs among types of regions as well as among countries. Small establishments are prevalent in all types of regions, with only a slight relative predominance in rural regions. This is in contrast to the more complex picture of differential growth rates by size of enterprise, region type and country. The predominance of very small establishments does not, however, indicate a corresponding importance for total employment. A significant share of rural employment is with the small number of larger enterprises.