Investigating the inequality of distribution of employment indicators in Iran with emphasis on rural areas

Providing employment and eliminating inequality between regions in order to create regional balance is one of the concerns of policy makers and regional development planners and in rural communities that play a key role in providing raw materials and food security, its importance is twofold. The aim of this quantitative and applied research is spatial analysis of employment indicators in rural areas of 31 provinces of Iran. The findings of the research showed that in terms of employment indicators, the three provinces of Zanjan, Ardabil and Qazvin, with final scores of 0.3337, 0.2373, and 0.232, ranked first to third, and three provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, Kohgiluyeh & BoyerAhmad and Kerman, respectively, occupied the lowest ranks with final scores of -0.3788, -0.318, and -0.218. The results of spatial analysis showed that if we divide the entire country into two parts, northern and southern, the northern half of the country is in a better situation than the southern half in terms of having employment indicators. The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that there is a statistically significant and negative relationship between provinces' employment indicators and the distance from the center variable at the 99% confidence level.