Analysis of factors influencing rural employment promotion for community development in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Some specific objectives of the paper were to describe and analyse the socio-economic characteristics of rural respondents; describe and analyse institutional, community, and ecological variables promoting rural employment; and estimate/determine crucial factors, which could influence rural employment promotion in Southern Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 60 rural communities in Southern Nigeria from which 300 interviewees were sampled and interviewed using structured and unstructured interview schedules. Simple descriptive statistical techniques such as frequency, percentages, mean, standard deviation, etc. were used to describe and summarise the data collected. Applying the law of Eigenvalue greater than or equal to 1, factor analysis was used to determine some crucial factors associated with employment promotion in Southern Nigeria. It was obvious from the results that over 50.0 % of the variables that had some degrees of relationship with REP were identified in the study. Socio-economic, institutional, infrastructure variables were found to enhance the promotion of rural employment in the area. Basically, about five major factors were extracted in the process of variable reduction in the analysis of data. These are the socio-economic attributes of the respondent (λ = 2.328), institutional influence on his activities (λ = 2.177), the ecology of his immediate environment (λ = 1.390), his financial and knowledge acquisition (λ = 1.750) and the infrastructure (λ = 1.283) at his disposal for appropriation in the process of establishing a cottage industry for production and or service purpose(s).