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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (8): 1737-1749.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.446

• Urban and Rural Development • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Transformation pattern of rural labor employment structure in oasis areas of arid regions and its economic effects: A case study of Ganzhou District

HUANG Jing1(), XUE Dongqian2(), HAN Chen1, XU Jiaxiu1   

  1. 1 School of Environment and Life Sciences, Weinan Normal University, Weinan 714099, Shaanxi, China
    2 School of Geographical Sciences and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2025-08-05 Revised:2025-09-12 Online:2026-08-25 Published:2026-08-21
  • Contact: XUE Dongqian E-mail:huangjing1@wnu.edu.cn;xuedq@snnu.edu.cn

Abstract:

The transformation of rural labor employment structure contributes to the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas in arid oasis regions. Taking Ganzhou District, a typical oasis in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, as a case study, this study applies the structural transformation index and quadratic assignment procedure regression analysis to examine the pattern of rural labor employment structure transformation in arid oasis areas and its economic effects from 2011 to 2020, while exploring the mechanism and regulatory paths of such transformation. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The rural labor employment structure has a stable “132” pattern with a generally low transformation degree. Its transformation is dominated by refined adjustments within industries, accompanied by a strengthened trend of local employment. (2) Township labor forces have developed two typical transformation models—the nonagricultural industry upgrading model and the balanced tertiary industry structure model. Spatially, the transformation progresses slowly in the oasis core area; the employment structure is diversified in the marginal area; and the industrial category conversion is drastic in the desert-oasis transition zone. (3) Nonagricultural industries exert an increasingly strong economic effect on the labor force, and the impact of employment structure transformation on income exhibits phased characteristics, where the forestry and service industry transformation serves as the main driver in the early stage; the role of construction industry transformation becomes prominent in the later stage; and in the long run, it relies on the sustained positive effect of internal structural adjustments in agriculture. Among these factors, the optimization of local employment structure is the key to boosting income growth. (4) The transformation of rural employment structures in arid oasis areas is a complex process. It is triggered by the rigid constraint of water resources, reinforced by ecological feedback, realized through livelihood adaptation adjustments, and ultimately manifested in economic responses and spatial differentiation. Based on this, a zonal regulatory path is proposed as follows: “promote the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in the core area, focus on the development of nonagricultural industries in the marginal area, and foster a virtuous cycle mechanism of migrant work and return-home entrepreneurship in the transition zone”. The findings can provide a theoretical basis and practical reference for the rational allocation of rural labor resources and the optimization of employment structure in arid oasis areas.

Key words: oasis rural areas, labor force employment, structural transformation, economic effects, quadratic assignment procedure