THE INFORMAL SECTOR OF THE URBAN ECONOMY AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION: NECESSITY UPON THE STATE

Abstract

This study examines the place of the information sector on the lives of Nigerians (Port Harcourt metropolis inclusive and consequently establishes the relationship between this sector and the poverty level in the state. This is due to the fact that the Post-Colonial Nigeria has witnessed progressive rise in the rate of unemployment. The rise in unemployment has been found to be either cyclical (that is high during periods of economic depression) or structural (that is, created by structural imbalance, for example schools turning out more graduates than the labour market can absorb)  Generally, this growing rate of unemployment which is a major feature of an ailing economy has been largely due to: (1) the urban population; the economic dependency level which has imposed various unfavorable and hard-biting economic measures on the teeming populace .Consequently, the informal sector has become important in absorbing some of the over available manpower. In fact, poverty has remained a major feature in the lives of most Nigerians, especially those in the informal sector. To achieve the objectives of this study, questionnaires, interviews and observational techniques were used as sources of data collection. Hypotheses were framed based on the objectives and z-test of mean was used to analyze the data. The study recommends, among others, that government should encourage stronger cooperative association amongst the informal sector and ensure that community leaders stand as surety for those applying for loans from them.