USDA ERS - Rural Economy & Population

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retail industries have accounted for most job growth in rural America over the past few decades. ERS research on rural business and industry focuses on industrial trends that shape the job opportunities available to the rural labor force. </div> </li> <li> <div class="info"> <a title="Employment &amp; Education" href="/topics/rural-economy-population/employment-education/">Employment & Education</a><br /> ERS research in this area focuses on labor market conditions and educational attainment in the rural (nonmetropolitan) United States. The labor market measures discussed here include the level of employment, the unemployment rate, and the labor force participation rate. Educational attainment is closely linked to labor market outcomes. While rural areas are closing the gap with urban areas in high school completion, there is a large and growing gap in college and postgraduate educational attainment, even among young adults. </div> </li> <li> <div class="info"> <a title="Natural Amenities" href="/topics/rural-economy-population/natural-amenities/">Natural Amenities</a><br /> ERS researchers developed a natural amenities scale based on the premise that people are drawn to areas with varied topography; lakes, ponds, or oceanfront; warm, sunny winters; and temperate, low-humidity summers. </div> </li> <li> <div class="info"> <a title="Population &amp; Migration" href="/topics/rural-economy-population/population-migration/">Population & Migration</a><br /> Nonmetro areas in some parts of the country have experienced population loss for decades. Opportunities for population growth and economic expansion, however, vary widely from one nonmetro county to the next, and new regional patterns of growth and decline have emerged in recent years. </div> </li> <li> <div class="info"> <a title="Rural Classifications" href="/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/">Rural Classifications</a><br /> USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) researchers and others who analyze conditions in "rural" America most often study conditions in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas, defined on the basis of counties. In addition to conducting research that uses the basic metro-nonmetro dichotomy, ERS has developed multi-level county classifications to measure rurality in more detail and to assess the economic and social diversity of nonmetro America. For some research and program applications, counties are too large to accurately distinguish rural and urban settlement patterns. Building on the urban-rural definition, ERS has also developed sub-county classifications that more accurately delineate different levels of rurality and address program eligibility concerns. </div> </li> <li> <div class="info"> <a title="Rural Poverty &amp; Well-Being" href="/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-poverty-well-being/">Rural Poverty & Well-Being</a><br /> ERS research in this topic area focuses on the economic, social, spatial, temporal, and demographic factors that affect the poverty status of rural residents. </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-3 col-md-pull-6"> <div id="secondary"> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-3" > <div id="tertiary"> <div class="list-group" role="group" aria-label="Related Publications" id="rightnav-publications"> <div class="related-list-group-item-heading rightnav toggle" id="rightnav-publications-heading" href="javascript:void(0);"> Reports </div> <div class="inner" role="list"> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/publications/pub-details/?pubid=110350">Rural America at a Glance: 2024 Edition</a> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/publications/pub-details/?pubid=110150">Methodology of the USDA, Economic Research Service’s Agricultural Trade Multipliers</a> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/publications/pub-details/?pubid=109610">The Poverty Area Measures Data Product</a> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/publications/pub-details/?pubid=108701">The Nature of the Rural-Urban Mortality Gap</a> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/publications/pub-details/?pubid=108468">Amber Waves: 2023 Year in Review</a> <div class="relatedSeeAll"> <a href="/publications/#!topicid=2d26875b-d523-4e2c-bf40-5281a376d38d&subtopicid=&series=&authorid=&page=1&sortfield=date&sortascending=false">See all</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="list-group" role="group" aria-label="Related Amber Waves" id="rightnav-amberwaves"> <div class="related-list-group-item-heading rightnav toggle" id="rightnav-amberwaves-heading" href="javascript:void(0);"> Amber Waves Articles </div> <div class="inner" role="list"> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/amber-waves/2024/january/ers-introduces-two-new-measures-characterizing-rugged-terrain-in-the-united-states/">ERS Introduces Two New Measures Characterizing Rugged Terrain in the United States</a> <a class="list-group-item" role="listitem" href="/amber-waves/2023/december/who-is-served-by-usda-rural-broadband-projects-study-shows-smaller-share-of-eligible-american-indians-and-alaska-natives-reached-by-reconnect/">Who is Served by USDA Rural Broadband Projects? 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