2/3 of rural counties lost jobs in February, but gains in the other 1/3 resulted in a net gain

Rural America followed the national trend by adding thousands of jobs in February, but the rural unemployment rate remains above the rate in exurban and urban counties. The rural rate in February was 11.1 percent, down slightly from 11.2 percent in January but still far above the 4.5 percent rate recorded in October 2007, Roberto Gallardo and Bill Bishop report for the Daily Yonder.

States differed, and "Nearly two-thirds of all rural counties lost jobs between January and February," Gallardo and Bishop write. "Oklahoma appeared to be leaking jobs in early 2010, as did rural Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Washington." Conversely, Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas and Louisiana appear to have gained rural jobs.

The Yonder has a chart of employment figures for every U.S. county in January and February, and its Yonder map below shows job gains and losses from January to February in rural counties. (Read more)