search our site     home > key topics > rural america   labor & education The Nation's 25 million rural workers face a fast-changing job market in which formal education and specialized job skills are increasingly critical to stable employment and good wages. Rural labor and education research at ERS examines the implications of an economy being transformed by advances in computers and information technology, as well as the causes and consequences of a large and persistent market for low-wage, low-skill workers in rural areas. related briefing rooms - offer an indepth discussion synthesizing ERS research Farm Labor Farm Structure Federal Funds Infrastructure and Rural Development Policy Measuring Rurality Race and Ethnicity in Rural America Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare Rural Industry Rural Labor and Education Rural Population and Migration feature 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. Other reports in this series look at rural education and rural America (see all At A Glance reports). web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov updated: July 28, 2004  Also at ERS... latest publications (all) • Rural America At A Glance, 2004 • Amber Waves, June 2004 • Rural Hispanics: Employment and Residential Trends latest data products (all) • Farm and Farm-related Employment • Urban Influence Codes resources • Contact an ERS Expert • Calendar of Releases services • Receive E-mail Updates • E-mail This Page • Translate This Page

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