Abstract

This article presents potentials of fine-graded spatial data for labor market research. We
therefore review developments in literature and highlight areas, detailed spatial data paves
the way to or extends research possibilities. Moreover, we share our experience in geocoding
the employment biographies (IEB) of almost the entire German workforce between 2000 and
2017. The resulting panel data provides detailed daily information on various labor market
characteristics of unprecedented spatial precision. To make the data easily accessible for
research, we further create grid cells that summarizes a rich set of labor market characteristics
and sociodemographic information. By using this unique data, we provide first detailed
evidence on inner city distributions of several labor market characteristics from 2000 to
2017 for all larger cities in Germany. In this paper, we exemplary describe two of these
cities, Berlin and Munich. The results exemplify that the use of small-scale geo-data reveals
substantial differences in various labor market aspects within and across cities.