Recruitment and retention issues in rural labour markets

This paper aims to provide insights into the recruitment and retention issues faced by employers in rural areas. To this end, information gathered through interviews with employers and labour market intermediaries in the predominantly rural county of Lincolnshire, UK was used as a source of data and focal point to discuss the demand side of the labour market. A distinction is made between circumstances in which there are hard-to-fill vacancies on the one hand, and the effects of an abundant labour supply on the other. The factors that affect labour retention are also discussed, including situations in which staff retention is a non-issue. Recognising the fact that economic life exists within, and is affected by the social context, the views of employers and labour market intermediaries are also analysed in the light of data from other sources. The paper concludes by suggesting that employers’ recruitment and retention issues cannot be studied in isolation; the supply side as well as the demographic, economic, and political context need to be considered as well.