Too little is known about how the location of people and jobs, the structure of the labour market and travel to work have changed during the motorization era (the diffusion of car ownership) in sparsely populated areas. In this project, the postwar development in such an area - the rural district of Ydre - has been studied. By means of published statistical information and questionnaires of our own, the structure of population, employment and travel in 1950 has been compared to the current situation. The population of Ydre has declined in this period. Moreover, a relocation of people within the district from rural areas to towns and villages has taken place. In 1950, agriculture was the dominating occupation. Nowadays, public service is the biggest single source of employment. More than half of female employment is in public service. The official rate of employment of women was relatively low in 1950 (probably underestimated in view of the fact that many women were wives of farmers), and is today close to the national average. In 1950, people in Ydre typically lived very close to their places of work. According to the questionnaire for 1950, the mean distance of journey to work was 1 km. Today, people often live far from their workplace, and travel to work by car, the mean distance of work trips is 16 km, and 42 % work outside the district (municipality) where they live. The rate of car ownership in Ydre is higher than the national rate. (A)
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