Multifactor Partitioning of Employment Growth in the Cities and Villages of the Québec-Chaudière-Appalaches Region Between 1981 and 1996
How do non-metropolitan employment centres located near metropolitan areas behave in terms of growth? This study presents an analysis of employment changes in job centres within the Québec-Chaudière-Appalaches Region (QCA) between 1981 and 1996. Using multifactor partitioning, a method derived from shift-share analysis, the study sheds light on aspects specific to the QCA region regarding the job decentralization process observed in most developed countries. In particular, it shows how this process interacts with the feminization of the work force. It also reveals, beyond the classic process of job suburbanization, the strong growth performance of most centres located within 50 km of the metropolitan area, while those located further away show a much larger variance in growth rates. These results suggest that, in the case of a medium-size CMA such as the Quebec CMA, agglomeration economies operate beyond the boundaries of the metropolitan area, but not much further beyond.