THE CONTRIBUTION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN EMPLOYMENT GENERATION: A STUDY OF JOS NORTH LGA, PLATEAU STATE
Rosemary, A. Anga, PhD, Michael Markus Womar and Diemsan Attah Ambrose
Volume 9 Issue 3
Abstract
Small and medium scale enterprises have been globally recognized as a major contributor to employment generation. The study investigated the role of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in employment generation in Nigeria using Jos North LGA of Plateau State as the case study. Data was analyzed using tables, simple percentages and charts while the hypothesis was tested at 5% level of significant using a Generalized Linear Model (GLM). The result revealed that, invested amount at present, number of employees at business inception, number of employees not on payroll, and wage rate were statistically significant in employment generation as they fall below the 5% level of significance with 24.25%, 59.43%, 8.47% and 29.40% as the coefficients, whereas age of the business and start-up capital were statistically insignificant in employment generation with p-value above 0.05 with the coefficient value of -5.10% and 4.99%. The study concludes that Nigeria has enormous potentials for SMEs to grow. However, it was constrained by finance, electricity, water and roads which when not addressed will continue to affect the sector. The study therefore recommends that, loans should be made available to SMEs by the government, individuals and financial institutions at a lower interest rate (single digit) and the business should serve as collateral. Similarly, more programs and policies geared towards training the youths on skill acquisition, agriculture and manufacturing should be intensified by civil society, private individuals and the government to help them expand their businesses thereby creates more job opportunities for the unemployed youth. Keywords: Employment, Employment Generation, SMEs, Performance, Generalized Linear Model,
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