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Studies & Degrees in Labour Markets

The labour market is where people who offer their work and employers who need it meet. Eurostat defines it as the real or virtual meeting point, within an economy, where employees negotiate and may reach an agreement with employers, and adds that labour markets provide the structure through which workers and employers interact about jobs, working conditions and pay. Collective bargaining, employers' organisations and trade unions are part of it, and the concept also covers employment, unemployment, participation rates and wages.

Studying labour markets means studying how that meeting point works: why wages differ, what causes unemployment, how laws and collective agreements shape hiring, and what employment policies achieve. The subject sits between economics, law, sociology and business management, and it is taught under several names: labour economics, labour or employment relations, industrial relations and human resources.

What students learn

  • labour economics: supply and demand for work, wages, unemployment, migration
  • labour and social security law, collective bargaining and trade union law
  • statistics and social research methods applied to employment data
  • human resource management, organisational behaviour and work psychology
  • public employment policy and its evaluation

The mix depends on the faculty. An economics department treats labour markets mainly with data and models; a law or social sciences faculty gives more weight to regulation and workplace relations.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree. In Spain the usual route is a bachelor's degree (grado) in labour relations, with 240 ECTS credits over four years, as set for bachelor's degrees by Royal Decree 822/2021. One example is the Grado en Relaciones Laborales y Empleo of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, taught in Spanish on the Getafe campus. The university describes it as multidisciplinary, drawing on economics, business organisation, law, sociology and psychology, and its curriculum includes subjects such as social research techniques and the labour market, and public social and labour policies. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that some schools offer a bachelor's degree in labor and industrial relations.
  • Master's degree. Specialisation usually comes at this level, either in economics with a labour focus or in employment relations and human resources. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. In the United Kingdom, the MSc Human Resources and Organisations of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) takes 12 months full time; its International Employment Relations stream examines employment relations, labour markets and workplace policy, and LSE states that this stream is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
  • Doctorate. Research posts in universities, central banks and international organisations normally require a PhD in economics or a related social science.
  • Short and professional courses. Training centres offer practical courses in payroll, contracts and labour administration for people who already work in a company or an advisory firm.

Where to study labour markets

SpainExchange lists three active schools for this subject: two in Spain and one in Zambia. In Barcelona, AFIGE is an online training institute whose courses cover tax, legal, accounting, finance and labour management, and UIBS / Barcelona Business School teaches business and management programmes. Mulungushi University is a public university in Kabwe, Zambia. None of these is a specialised labour-market institute, so ask each school which courses deal with employment and labour relations and what recognition the qualification has.

Because labour law and employment institutions are national, the language of instruction is normally the language of the country: Spanish in Spain, English in Zambia and the United Kingdom. A degree centred on one country's labour law is most useful in that country.

Careers

Graduates work in human resources departments, labour advisory firms, trade unions and employers' organisations, public employment services, labour inspectorates, statistical offices and research centres. The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid lists, among the outlets of its degree, the regulated profession of graduado social (which requires membership of the professional body), labour auditor, human resources officer, employment officer, careers adviser and labour inspector, the last through public examinations.

For the United States, BLS gives projections for three related occupations for 2025 to 2035:

  • economists, who among other things research issues related to the labor force: growth of 5 percent; they typically need at least a master's degree
  • labor relations specialists, who resolve employee-management disputes and negotiate labor contracts: growth of 2 percent
  • human resources specialists, who recruit, screen and place workers: growth of 6 percent

Frequently asked questions

Is labour markets a degree of its own?

Rarely. It is normally a specialisation inside economics, labour relations or human resources. In Spain the closest degree is the grado in labour relations, with 240 ECTS credits over four years.

Do I need mathematics to study labour markets?

For the economics route, yes: labour economics relies on statistics and data analysis. Degrees in labour relations give more weight to law, sociology and management, with statistics as a supporting subject.

Can I work in another country with a labour relations degree?

The economic and management content transfers well, but labour law is national. Anyone who wants to advise on contracts, payroll or social security in a country needs to know that country's rules.

How long does a master's degree take?

It depends on the country. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits; the MSc Human Resources and Organisations at LSE takes 12 months full time.