According to a 1981 questionnaire survey of 2,554 heads of rural households in 10 Southern states, rural people perceived that the most serious barriers to securing employment in Southern rural areas were job shortages, lack of personal or political contacts, insufficient training or education, and lack of job information. Respondents perceived the lack of transportation and discrimination on the basis of age, race, or sex to be less significant barriers. Analysis of socioeconomic factors on responses revealed that while 53.7% of respondents perceived job shortages as a serious barrier, occupational status particularly affected those perceptions. Another barrier, knowing the right people, perceived as serious by 36% of the respondents, was affected by race, educational level, poverty status, and occupational level. Those factors and respondent's sex affected perceptions of the lack of job information, the lack of transportation, and age discrimination as employment barriers. Respondents' sex, race, and poverty status affected their perceptions of racial discrimination; sex and race affected their perceptions of sex discrimination; and race affected perceptions of insufficient training or education, a serious barrier for 34.6% of all respondents. The availability of gainful employment may minimize the perceived major problems of securing employment in the rural South. (SB)