declining

Rural Unemployment Rates Declining

Dan Industry News Release, Labor and Immigration

decliningUnemployment rates in rural areas of the nation are steadily declining, a trend first started in 2010. Farm Journal’s AgWeb reports that rural and urban unemployment rates have since fallen toward pre-recession levels. The overall unemployment rate as of 2016 was 5.7 percent in rural areas and 5.2 percent in urban areas. Before that time, unemployment rates in rural America roughly doubled from 2007 to 2010. While higher educational status correlates to lower unemployment, rural Americans of all education levels saw declining unemployment rates since 2010. Those with less than a high school diploma saw unemployment rates fall from around 15 percent to just below 10 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, those with a bachelor’s degree or higher saw unemployment rates fall from around four percent to two percent.

Read the full USDA Economic Research Service Rural Employment and Unemployment report.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.