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overview
In 2002, over 25 million wage and salary workers lived in rural
America. The rural unemployment rate, which fell to a 27-year low
in 2000, rose during the subsequent recession and weak recovery
to 5.6 percent in 2002. Earnings growth also slowed during this
period. Rural workers, nonetheless, have weathered recent economic
events relatively well compared with the rest of the Nation. Their
unemployment rates remain slightly below, and earnings growth slightly
above, the national average. The share of rural workers age 25 and
over earning less than the four-person poverty threshold dropped
slightly in 2002 to 24 percent.
Rural labor and education research at ERS focuses on the economic
and social forces that affect supply and demand among rural workers.
The distinctive characteristics of rural labor markets, including
earnings that average 20 percent below those of urban areas, limited
opportunities for workers with advanced education and skills, and
a relatively strong reliance on extractive and manufacturing jobs,
present unique challenges. The ERS mission is to analyze the ways
in which this distinctiveness affects employment and earnings conditions
and trends for the rural workforce. More
overview...
contents
features
Rural Education at a Glance—This
report provides the latest information from the 2000 Census and
other Federal data sources about the
education  characteristics of rural workers and counties. It documents
both rising rural adult educational attainment during the 1990s
and a growing earnings gap between the most- and least-educated
individuals in rural areas. The report also finds that racial educational
differences remain large and that adult education levels remain far below
the national average in many rural counties, particularly in the South.
Counties with more educated populations appear to have performed better
on several economic measures in the 1990s, such as lower poverty rates and
positive manufacturing employment growth.
Rural
College Graduates Make a Comeback—This Finding from Amber
Waves reports
that the college-educated population grew at about the same rate
in metro and nonmetro areas during the 1990s. The number of college
graduates had previously grown much faster in metro areas. Meanwhile,
the number of nonmetro adults without a high school diploma has
been falling steadily. If 1990s trends continue, nonmetro college-educated
adults could outnumber high school dropouts by 2010.
Impacts of Hispanic Population Growth on Rural Wages—The number of
Hispanics in rural areas grew by 70 percent between 1990 and 2000. Is
the rapid influx of large numbers of Hispanics depressing local wages
or are Hispanics filling a need for labor that is not present in the
receiving communities? This report examines the impact of Hispanic population
growth on rural wages during the 1990s concluding that Hispanic population
growth led to lower wages for at least one segment of the rural population-workers
with a high school degree (skilled workers).
Wage Premiums for On-the-Job Computer
Use: A Metro and Nonmetro Analysis—An analysis of on-the-job
computer use shows that such use is more common in metro areas
than
in nonmetro areas. A substantial wage premium, 10 to 11 percent,
is associated with using a computer on the job, even after
other
job and worker characteristics are taken into account. However,
this wage premium accounts for only a small proportion of the
wage
differences between metro and nonmetro areas. In nonmetro areas,
the computer use wage premium is only about 6 percent. See
also
the related Amber Waves article, "Digital
Divide" Not to Blame for Rural Earnings Shortfall.
recommended readings
Displaced Workers: Differences
in Nonmetro and Metro Experience in the Mid-1990's—During
1995-97, 3.4 million workers were displaced from their jobs, of
whom 500,000 (15 percent) were nonmetro workers. This report examines
the displaced workers' experience in metro and nonmetro areas using
survey and administrative data. Although nonmetro workers were
less likely to be displaced than metro workers, they had a lower
probability of finding employment after losing their jobs. Nonmetro
workers were less likely to be covered by legislation providing
advance notice of job loss and providing retirement and health
insurance benefits after being laid off. A variety of programs
are available to assist displaced workers in nonmetro areas.
Rural America: Rural
Community Colleges—The featured articles in this issue
of Rural America all deal with community colleges and their growing
role in rural development. Articles show how rural community
colleges better meet the needs of the rural economy, how a furniture-making
program at a rural college is used to revitalize both a community
and an industry, how the Rural Community College Initiative challenges
colleges in distressed areas to become catalysts for change,
and how others might replicate the best development practices
of community colleges. The Rural Updates section contains the
latest updates on rural development policy, migration, earnings,
and farm household income and wealth.
Can Rural
Employment Benefit From Changing Labor Skills in U.S. Processed
Food Trade?—In 1972, processed food exports used more
skilled labor per unit of output than processed food imports.
By 1992, this situation had reversed and the skill intensity
of processed food trade had switched. Higher meat and poultry
exports compared with other processed food trade could explain
this switch in skill intensity. The growth in meat trade paralleled
an urban-to-rural shift in the meatpacking and poultry processing
sectors.
See all recommended readings...
recommended data products
Nonmetro employment
and unemployment estimates from the Current Population Survey—Provides
an up-to-date look at rural employment and unemployment.
Unemployment
and median household income estimates—State- and county-level
unemployment rates for the latest 6 years, and the latest median household
income figures for States and counties. Sort and rank States, and
the counties within a State on these indicators; view a county's income
as a percentage of the State's income. Data come from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Farm and Farm-Related
Employment—Estimates of farm and farm-related employment
by State, farm production region, and farm resource region provide
valuable information about the importance of agriculture in various
geographic areas of the country. Farm and farm-related industries,
such as farm production, processing and marketing of agricultural
goods, and agricultural wholesale and retail trade, are generally
identified as industries having 50 percent or more of their national
workforce employed in providing goods and services necessary to
satisfy the final demand for agricultural products.
See all recommended data products...
recent research developments
 Low-Skill
Workers Are a Declining Share of All Rural Workers—Rural
workers in jobs with low skill requirements declined as a share
of all rural workers during the 1990s, a decade when technological
change seemed to favor high-skill urban-oriented economic activities.
This trend suggests that rural workers as a whole are participating
in the long-term national movement toward a more skill-intensive
economy marked by higher labor productivity and wages.
Promoting the Social
and Economic Vitality of Rural America: The Role of Education—A
conference sponsored by the Economic Research Service, the Southern
Rural Development Center, and the Rural Schools and Community Trust,
April 14-15, 2003, at the Sheraton-New Orleans, New Orleans, LA.
At the conference, social scientists and education specialists
from academia, government, and policy centers discussed the impact
of local schools and related human capital resources on the economic
prospects of rural communities. For details on topics and speakers,
see the conference
agenda.
related briefing rooms
related links
Bureau of Economic Analysis—Provides
annual employment and income data for counties, States, and regions.
Bureau of Labor Statistics—A
comprehensive source for Federal labor-related data and publications.
National Center for Education
Statistics—The official Federal site for information on
the Nation's education systems.
See all related links...
maps and images gallery
Rural Gallery—a
wide array of economic and social indicators displayed in maps
and charts.
for more information, contact:
Robert Gibbs
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: April
13, 2004
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