Rural unemployment continues to rise slowly

Unemployment in rural areas continued to rise in July, reaching 8.4 percent in the 2,000-plus rural counties in the U.S., according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The rate has been rising since April, when it was 7.7 percent. A year ago it was 9.1 percent. Unemployment continues to be slightly higher in urban areas than in rural. In July, unemployment in urban areas was 8.7 percent. Suburbs were lower.

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Since last July, almost two out of three rural and exurban counties gained employment, Bill Bishop of the Daily Yonder and Roberto Gallardo of the Center for Rural Affairs report. They note "certain regional patterns:" Pacific coast states had a high number of rural counties that lost jobs since July 2011, the Great Plains had job losses, but not in the oil and gas drilling regions. Rural Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Georgia have gained large numbers of jobs. (Read more) (Yonder map)