Each new conference in this series produces research which advances the field, often in unexpected directions. The ninth conference focussed our attention on two rapidly growing areas of labour market research: the dynamics of the labour market and its geography. Our understanding of labour, employment and work was advanced in other directions as well including woman in the labour force, the role of community institutions in employment generation, tho potential impacts of aging on the labour market and, for the first time in the LEW series, the employment experience of Pacific Island peoples in New Zealand. The following overview offers a synopsis of the key arguments in each of the 35 papers