The study aims to document three aspects of the labour market for the Brussels low-skilled workers and the demand for household services in Brussels Region and its periphery.

This project starts from the observation that contemporary Western labour markets tend to polarize: jobs 'in the middle' become less important. At the bottom of the labour market, the growth of service jobs fuels the demand for low-skilled labour. The purpose of this research is to assess target group policies, in particular the service voucher policy. This is important in light of the future responsibility for service vouchers by the Brussels-Capital Region as a result of the sixth state reform. The study aims to document three aspects of the labour market. Firstly, we study the spatial interaction between the low-skilled supply and labour demand in Brussels and its hinterland. We are looking for sources of a spatial mismatch between the Brussels low-skilled workers and the demand for household services in Brussels Region and its periphery. Hypothetical mismatches by differences in languages mastered and mobility problems get out first attention. Second, we look for unmet demand for domestic services in the Region and in the hinterland. This can bring us on the trail of potential policy interventions that facilitate employment of the target group. Finally, we compare the service voucher employment with the informal market of domestic workers. This allows us to assess the effectiveness of the former system. To achieve these objectives, three sets of data are collected: 1. A longitudinal dataset based on jobseekers administrative sources (Actiris). These data are linked through the Kruispuntbank van de Sociale Zekerheid. The data will allow us to research patterns in finding a job in the region or in the periphery, and the factors (in particular: distance from the place of residence and access to transportation, language skills) that have an impact. 2. Collection of discrete choice experimental data researching (unmet) demand for household services with a wide sample of households in the Region and the Flemish and Walloon hinterland. 3. Questionnaire research from the same sample of households (face-to-face interviews) and from their domestic helpers (written multilingual questionnaire).

Keywords:Brussel

Disciplines:Applied economics, Economic history, Macroeconomics and monetary economics, Microeconomics, Tourism