Rooted but conditionally staying in tourism-dependent rural labour markets

Rural development assessments often overlook how job quality interacts with meanings of work and place. This study examines labour precarity, territorial belonging and mobility among workers in tourism-dependent, low-density areas of the Algarve, Portugal. Integrating geographical and cultural political economy with decent work, meaningful work and place attachment, it uses reflexive thematic analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews across diverse sectors. Precarity encompassed seasonal employment, unpredictable schedules, limited occupational alternatives, commuting burdens and unequal training access. Work remained meaningful through community ties, local identity, care and environmental stewardship, despite inadequate conditions for decent work. Participants preferred to remain but recognised that mobility might become necessary without stable employment and professional development. These findings conceptualise conditional staying as territorial attachment combined with structurally constrained labour futures. They support place-based policies integrating economic diversification and year-round employment with improved job quality, accessible training, transport and essential services.