Assessment of Lithuanian strategic planning documents on infrastructure development for new jobs creation in the rural areas

Abstract

Lithuania, similar to the whole European Union, features an insufficient employment growth rate and a need for a strategic approach towards the infrastructure development for jobs creation. The research aim at assessing the importance of the objectives, tasks, and measures for development of employment in rural areas is laid down in strategic planning documents. The importance of the EU support programmes in the context of raising employment rates and infrastructure development was assessed using the content analysis method. The research results show that the priorities, objectives, tasks, and measures of Lithuanian strategic planning documents are centred on the overall growth of the national economy, which can also be partially described by the indicator of investments into infrastructure development for creation of new jobs. However, measures also play a vital role to keep the balance between the social and economic elements of the development in rural areas, and between territorial cohesion and sustainable development objectives and tasks as well as their implementation.