Rural areas continue to see lower unemployment

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data this week that shows a continuing decline in unemployment in rural areas, report Bill Bishop and Roberto Gallardo of The Daily Yonder. The rate of unemployment in rural counties of 8.3 percent is lower than both the national rate of 8.5 percent and the rate in urban counties of 8.6 percent. (Yonder map)

Bishop and Gallardo report the rural unemployment rate has been falling steadily since June when the rate was 9.2 percent. It peaked in January 2010 at 11.2 percent. Bishop and Gallardo caution that the Bureau calculated its unemployment figures differently than the national rate announced each month, with one difference being unemployment rates aren't seasonally adjusted. Regional differences in rates are apparent, they report, with the Southeast and West continuing to have high unemployment, while New England, Great Plains and Mountain West states have better employment statistics than the national average.

The lowest unemployment rates come from a 60-county cluster in Great Plains states, with 25 in Nebraska and 27 in North Dakota. Bishop and Gallardo report rural counties with the lowest rates are places "that have been adding jobs." Rural America has added 130,000 jobs since October 2010, and seven out of 10 of those jobs were created in counties with rates already lower than the national average. There are rural counties that continued to lose jobs, however, and Bishop and Gallardo report they are scattered across the country. Athens, Ohio lost nearly 3,000 jobs over the past year, and Louisiana has 10 counties on the list of 50 rural counties that lost the most jobs at 10. (Read more)