Employment in retailing: A case study of employment in suburban shopping centres

Ian Alexander; John, A. Dawson

Geoforum 10(4): 407-425

1979


ISSN/ISBN: 0016-7185
DOI: 10.1016/0016-7185(79)90022-8
Document Number: 343187
There have been many studies of the retail industry in recent years, and of the impact that retailing has had on the spatial arrangement of urban areas and on consumer behaviour. Little attention has been paid, however, to employment in retailing, which is disturbing in view of its growing importance and its rapidly changing nature and composition. This paper examines the nature of the broad structural changes within the industry, and investigates their spatial consequences through a case study of employment generation within a system of suburban retail centres in Canberra, Australia. It is shown that the evolution of suburban centres, particularly those of a regional variety, has had an important and enriching impact on the suburban labour market. The regional centres are also seen to be the focus of the major structural employment changes currently affecting the retail industry. This has some important implications for urban planning.

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