Development in the number of jobs in Iceland, 2008–2016 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 A. Agriculture, 6700 7000 7300 7400 7500 7600 7400 7500 7400 forestry and fishing B. Mining and quar- 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 rying C. Manufacturing 21400 19900 20100 20700 21200 21800 22000 22100 22600 D. Electricity, gas, 1600 1600 1600 1500 1400 1400 1400 1500 1500 steam and air conditioning supply E. Water supply; 800 800 800 800 900 900 900 1000 900 sewerage, waste management and remediation Hjørring harbour. Photo: Ágúst Bogason activities F. Construction 16800 10700 9000 8500 8600 9100 9600 10400 11900 G. Wholesale and 24600 21400 21200 21400 22000 22300 22700 23200 24300 retail trade; repair of motor vehicles V.6. HJØRRING IN DENMARK: Paying greater and motorcycles H. Transportation 9700 8700 8600 8900 9200 9600 10000 10600 12000 attention to what is already attractive and making and storage it better I. Accommodation 7500 7200 7700 8300 9100 10000 11000 12400 14100 and food service By Ágúst Bogason activities J. Information and 7800 7200 7200 7300 7300 7500 7600 7800 7900 communication Introduction home to some 65,000 people. Hjørring town is by K. Financial and 8000 7000 6800 6700 6600 6400 6200 5900 5900 insurance activities Why are some municipalities better than others at far the largest settlement within the municipality, L. Real estate 1300 900 1000 1000 1100 1100 1200 1300 1400 deploying their resources, attracting people and with around 25,000 people or 40% of the total activities creating jobs? This was the key question studied in population. Around 20% live in the smaller towns M. Professional, 8400 7700 7500 7700 8000 8100 8300 8500 8800 this analysis of the attractiveness of 14 rural mu- – about 6,000 in Hirtshals, while Sindal, Vrå, Tårs scientific and technical activities nicipalities in the Nordic Region. and Løkken have between 1,500 and 3,000 each. N. Administrative 5200 4500 4600 4900 5200 5600 6100 6900 8600 The 14 areas selected are all defined as attrac- Around 40% live in the more rural areas or small- and support tive in the sense that their populations and the er settlements of 100 people or fewer (Hjørring service activities number of people in work have increased in recent Kommune, 2018). O. Public admin- 12600 11500 11700 12000 11900 11900 11900 12200 11900 istration and de- years. The nature of the boost to employment While Hjørring municipality is located in the fence; compulsory in some sectors has been identified by means of far north-west of Denmark, and therefore by social security shift-share analyses to determine how much of the some definitions considered remote, others would P. Education 17900 19000 18800 18800 18900 19200 19600 19600 19500 change is attributable to specifically local factors. say that it is centrally located near Vendsyssel, Q. Human health 20300 20900 20300 19700 19800 20200 20500 20900 21000 Interviews then probed key stakeholders about and is in fact right in the centre of Scandinavia and social work activities motivation, working conditions, job creation and and Northern Europe. With car and ferry connec- R. Arts, entertain- 4100 4300 4300 4400 4400 4400 4600 4600 4600 living conditions. These interviews were with public tions to Oslo in Norway, Gothenburg in Sweden, ment and sector representatives (e.g. mayors and heads of Hamburg in Germany and the Danish capital of recreation planning and development), business representa- Copenhagen, all of these important centres can S. Other service 4100 4000 3900 3900 3900 3900 4000 4100 4000 activities tives and entrepreneurs, high school students and be reached within four to five hours. The main sea- U. Activities of 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 people from the education sector, as well as fami- port is in the town of Hirtshals. It has ferry links to extra-territorial lies. Combined with analyses of other data and in- Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. organisations and formation, the interviews helped us to understand Although Hjørring is by common definitions a bodies TOTAL 179000 164500 162600 164100 167200 171200 175200 180700 188500 why some places do better than others. rural area it also a hub for transport and travel be- Hjørring is a Danish municipality in the North tween various regions and countries. Its geograph- Jutland Region on the west coast of the island of ical location, along with relatively close proximity Vendsyssel-Thy, at the top of the Jutland penin- to some of the larger urban areas in Denmark, pro- sula in northern Denmark. Hjörring municipality is vides Hjørring kommune with many opportunities. nordregio report 2020:1 91 The challenges Hjørring faces today are similar to Hjørring those of many rural areas in the Nordic countries – a reduction in population, especially younger peo- 67 500 ple, along with changes in the labour market that 67 000 mean less employment in the more traditional in- 66 500 dustries of agriculture, fishery and other industrial 66 000 65 500 activities. 65 000 The municipality has taken some initiatives 64 500 to try and tackle these trends, making the region 64 000 more attractive in the hope of attracting people to move there. Looking at demographic trends in the 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 last few years, these efforts appear to have been fairly successful, although many challenges still Hjørring lie ahead. Efforts are ongoing to try and attract more (and younger) people to the region, both by 200 focusing on what makes it attractive outside the 100 workplace while simultaneously seeking to appeal 0 to businesses – by creating positive conditions for them to flourish. –100 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 –200 Demographic development –300 Overall, Hjørring municipality covers 929.58 km2 –400 (358.91 sq miles), making it the largest in Vendsys- sel. It had a total population of 64,665 on 1 January Figures V.6.1a and V.6.1b: These figures show that 2019, compared with 67,121 at the start of 2008. from 2008/9 a trend of outward migration started, After continued falls, a small population was de- and a larger number of people moved away from tected from 2015 to 2016. However, over the last Hjørring. This resulted in the population falling until decade, the proportion of older people has gone around 2015, when the population seemed to stabi- up. The proportion of over 65s was 17.3% in 2008 lise and then to go up slightly. Source: Nordregio’s own calculations. but 23.1% in 2019 (Statistics Denmark, 2019). Hjørring, like so many other more remote Nordic communities, has to cope with an ageing from other European countries, has countered population, while the younger generations move to outward migration by young people. This has the more urban settings for education and work curbed the overall outward migration trend for the (Andersen et al, 2017, and interviews). A new study municipality as a whole. A top priority for the next conducted by the municipality and Erhverv Hjør- few years is, therefore, to attract some of those ring (Business Hjørring) shows that only one out younger people back to their home communities. of every seven people who moves away returns However, in order to do so, an attractive social, to the municipality before the age of 33 (Erhverv working and living environment must be created, Hjørring, 2019). Even though the rapid population one that meets the standards of the younger gen- decrease has slowed down, overall the population eration in terms of both employment and recrea- of Hjørring dropped by 2.6% in from 2008 to 2018. tional opportunities. On top of that, a population forecast from Sta- tistics Denmark suggests that the population will Labour market & employment fall by a further 4.2% in the next decade (Statis- Historically, Hjørring municipality has been de- tics Denmark, 2018). pendent on traditional industries, fishing and ag- According to specialists spoken to during the riculture. Those sectors are still noticeably visible fieldwork for this case study in Hjørring, the out- in the region and play a particularly important ward migration numbers would be considerably role in the identity of some areas within it, espe- higher (alongside the ‘over-65 ratio’) if younger cially smaller settlements on the coast and in ru- people from abroad had not migrated into the re- ral areas. These sectors still contribute to the lo- gion. This movement of people to Hjørring, mainly cal economy while employing a relatively smaller nordregio report 2020:1 92 Hjørring, 2008–2016 -1000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 A Agriculture, forestry and fishing B Mining and quarrying CA Manufacture of food products ... CB Textiles and leather products CC Wood and paper products and printing CD Oil refinery etc. CE Manufacture of chemicals CF Pharmaceuticals CG Manufacture of plastic, glass and ... CH Basic metals and fabricated metal CI Manufacture of electronic components CJ Electrical equipment CK Manufacture of machinery CL Transport equipment CM Manufacture of furniture and other ... D Electricity, gas, steam and air ... E Water supply, sewerage and waste ... F Construction G Wholesale and retail trade H Transportation I Accommodation and food service activities JA Publishing, television and radio ... JB Telecommunications JC IT and information service activities K Financial and insurance L Real estate activities MA Consultancy etc. MB Scientific research and development MC Advertising and other business services N Travel agent, cleaning and other ... O Public administration, defence and ... P Education QA Human health activities QB Residential care R Arts, entertainment and recreation S Other service activities etc. X Activity not stated Jobs in 2016 Local Employment Effect Employment Change predicted on the basis of sectorial and national trends Figure V.6.2: The development of anticipated and realised changes in job availability at a sectoral level from 2008 to 2016, and the status of jobs for Hjørring in 2016.