Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYMENT ON POPULATION STABILITY IN RURAL SETTLEMENTS (A CASE STUDY ON CHENARAN CITY)

Hashem Jangi, Hamid Jafari and Mohammad Ali Ahmadian

Abstract

Human centrality is among the main development tools to develop rural areas. That is because the manpower’s characteristics are quantitatively and qualitatively among the factors affecting the rural development. Population growth and lack of job generating activities in rural areas has led to the vulnerability of rural households. The main cause of rural-urban migration is the lack of employment and income for villagers’ livelihood. One of the important issues the villages are facing today is the process of rural migration jeopardizing the population stability in these settlements. In this regard, the present study aims to investigate the effect of employment on population stability in rural settlements in the studied area. This is an applied research in terms of objective conducted through descriptive-analytic method using library and field methodology to collect the required data. The study population consisted of 10 villages in the city with population of 1152 households which had the highest amount of migration. According to Cochran’s formula, 288 questionnaires were completed by heads of households and were analyzed. The results showed that villagers are still highly motivated to migrate and some factors such as employment, income, etc. have the greatest impact on migration and population instability in rural areas.