In 1970, Sweden officially had 187 labour markets. Some 33 years later, in 2003, the number stood at 87 (SCB). Similarly, in Denmark, the figure for 1992 was given as 45, while in 2004 this had fallen to only 27 (Danmarks Statistik). In both cases, the number of local authorities (kommuner) more or less remained constant during the relevant periods.
The labour market in this context is defined by commuter catchment areas, i.e. the distance one can travel to-and-from work on a daily basis. In most cases, such travel would be by private car or public bus or train. In some cases however it could be boat or even airplane. Bornholm, Eyajafjördur, Gotland, Kainuu, Ulstein, and Åland are all examples of such labour markets.
The total number of labour markets for the Nordic countries in 2001 (with the exception of Iceland) was some 500. As much as 80 percent of these had less than 75 000 inhabitants (Hanell and Persson, 2003). Sixty percent of these markets could be called micro labour areas. In population, terms these would count for only 9 percent of the Nordic total, while for land area they count for as much as 60 percent.
One should observe that the number of commuters always decreases during recessions, since the un-employed are, by definition, not commuters.