Employment

Basic Aspects of the Issue

There are very few jobs in the rural area. That is the basic issue. The reason there are few jobs is that a massive agricultural restructuring has taken place with resultant depopulation of the rural areas across North America. This agricultural restructuring has taken place because of he changes in technology. As Tweeten in his book Fundamentals of Agricultural Policy points out, this situation has arisen because of a ver successful education and research initiative by our society, which has shifted the balance of production inputs from land and labor to purchased inputs which now yield far higher returns on investment.

With surplus agricultural labor streaming to the cities for work there is a drop in the need for support service personnel in the towns, so these people also move to cities to get work. With an aging population in the towns, many of the off-farm jobs are now being taken up in by the farmers and spouses of farmers in the rural areas.

The overall effects of computerization, information-age based economy, and flight of manufacturing jobs to third world countries has hit everybody , rural and urban alike. Our society is in the thrown of a major social and economic change , and it shows up the most vividly in the area of employment.

Rural Development Institute Research Studies

• "Socio-Economic Linkages Between Agriculture and Rural Communities in Western Canada" - Richard Rounds
  This is a very good overview of he current interdependent dynamics of agriculture and rural communities in Western Canada. With the aging populations in small centers, farm spouses are moving in to fill labor needs in the towns, which in turn helps keep farm standard of living higher than possible otherwise. This dynamic is breaking down the older town-farm splits in social and economic dynamics.

• "Economic Development and Immigrant Employment and opportunities in Rural Manitoba" -Jack Lam
  This study deals with the rural retention of immigrants and the reduction of urban flight after arrival. The study is based on a survey and interviews with key leaders in rural communities. It is designed to look at job availability and assimilation support services (both of which seem to be lacking).

• "Off-Farm Employment in Agro- Manitoba" - Ken Bessant, Richard Rounds, and Erasmus Monu
  Rural (agricultural) restructuring has been going on since the depression of the 1930's and family adjustments have been moving in pace. Changes have occurred in the type of operations, number of farms, and increased acreage per farm. A move to increasing off-farm employment was noted in the 1941 census.

  Ten Manitoba Communities and 50 farms surrounding each were studied b local research assistants. The responses were fairly even over the province with the exception of Portage la Prairie. The results certainly did not match up with the stereotype of off-farm employment, making it a very interesting study.

  The study noted:

  • That the amount of time and number of people involved is increasing
  • Towns and farms are being brought closer together owing to the farm spouses taking jobs in town as town populations rise in age.
  • Rural development must see the parts and the whole of this phenomenon.

  The reasons for off farm employment were found to be quite varied:

  • to sustain farm viability and ward off failure (the usual view)
  • diversification
  • wise use of seasonally free time
  • money for preservation or increase of opportunities
  • female careers
  • enhansed lifestyle

• "Employment Trends in Rural Manitoba- The Role Of Manufacturing" Ray Bollman and Richard Rounds.
  The authors note that industry adds value to raw materials and rewards human enterprise. In the rural area, it is mostly primary manufacturing with a little bit of secondary and tertiary:
  • grain and animals into meat and food products
  • timber into lumber
  • ore into metal

  This study is an overall comparison of variety of types of manufacturing in Manitoba, and provides good basic data.

  • 7-8% of manufacturing is in rural centers
  • 75% of all manufacturing is in Winnipeg and is very sable
  • 10-12% of Manitoba GDP is manufacturing factors
  • 13-14% of Manitoba GDP is manufacturing Labor
  Services are to this sector mostly, forming a huge government target area. It is helpful to not the sectors being manipulated by incentives.

• "Issues Related to Value Added Processing of Ag Products in Manitoba" - Thomas J. McEwan and Richard Rounds.
  This study was to tease out the impediments to the development of value added processing of agricultural raw materials, owing to the slow pace of development in Manitoba. 11 cross-disciplinary meetings were held of twelve sectors, with representatives of field people in industry. The results are noted as being suggestive rather than exhaustive. Impediments were thought to be:
  • marketing boards (negative)
  • The crow rate (negative)
  • Foreign Trade Sanctions (negative) and the need for capital.
  • Manitoba farmers were felt to be OK at the farm gate
  • Reductions in technical and resource support
  • Unity needed

• "Rural Employment - an International Perspective" -

Other Resources