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Abstract
High concentration of jobs in cities and towns is accompanied by labour
commuting from the rural (urban) hinterlands. It is the phenomenon that
generates functional regions characterized by the relationship between an urban
centre and its rural hinterland. The inverse relationship is if a rural municipality
with available attractive jobs becomes the centre of the special functional region
(or a centre on a lower hierarchic level) and its hinterland consists of urban and
rural municipalities with labour commuting to the rural centre. The aim of the
paper is to answer the question whether such inverse relationship, manifested
by the rural municipality with the positive commuting balance exists in Slovakia
and what is its cause. The original statistical data concerning commuting obtained
from the last 2001Census has been used in this study in order to identify
what is referred to as rural employment centres (more than 100 commuters, and
the positive commuting balance). The paper maps, analyses and explains spatial
distribution of rural employment centres in Slovakia and adds their inner characteristics.