Business & Industry
While agriculture, forestry, and mining remain important sectors in some rural areas, service and 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.
Employment & Education
Unemployment rates in nonmetro areas are similar to rates in metro areas, though with wide geographic variation, and the impact of the 2007-2009 recession was similar in metro and nonmetro areas. Average earnings, however, are substantially lower among nonmetro workers, as are education levels. The lower rural earnings levels reflect lower shares of highly skilled jobs and lower returns to college degrees in rural labor markets.
Natural Amenities
ERS has developed a program of research showing how landscape and climate have been shaping the geography of rural growth and decline.
Population & Migration
ERS tracks several demographic trends that are reshaping economic and social conditions across nonmetro counties.
Rural Classifications
ERS has developed several classifications to measure rurality and assess the economic and social diversity of rural America.
Rural Development Policy
ERS rural development policy research focuses on the deployment of strategies and the crafting of policy that target development.
Rural Poverty & Well-being
ERS research in this area focuses on the economic, social, and demographic factors that affect the income and poverty status of rural residents and their participation in Federal assistance programs, including food assistance programs.