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Can Rural
Employment Benefit From Changing Labor Skills in U.S. Processed
Food Trade?—In 1972, processed food exports used more
skilled labor per unit of output than processed food imports.
By 1992, this situation had reversed and the skill intensity
of processed food trade had switched. Higher meat and poultry
exports compared with other processed food trade could explain
this switch in skill intensity. The growth in meat trade paralleled
an urban-to-rural shift in the meatpacking and poultry processing
sectors.
Computer Use by Rural Workers
is Rapidly Increasing—Despite gains, rural workers were
less likely to use computers on the job than urban workers in
1993, due mostly to occupational and educational differences.
Displaced Workers: Differences
in Nonmetro and Metro Experience in the Mid-1990s—During
1995-97, 3.4 million workers were displaced from their jobs,
of whom 500,000 (15 percent) were nonmetro workers. Although
nonmetro workers were less likely to be displaced than metro
workers, they had a lower probability of finding employment
after losing their jobs. Nonmetro workers were less likely
to be covered
by legislation providing advance notice of job loss and providing
retirement and health insurance benefits after being laid
off. A variety of programs are available to assist displaced
workers
in nonmetro areas.
Impacts of Hispanic Population
Growth on Rural Wages—The number of Hispanics in rural
areas grew by 70 percent between 1990 and 2000. Is the rapid
influx of large numbers of Hispanics depressing local wages or
are Hispanics filling a need for labor that is not present in
the receiving communities? This report concludes
that Hispanic population growth led to lower wages for at least
one segment of the rural population—workers with a high
school degree (skilled workers).
Increasing the Minimum Wage:
Implications for Rural Poverty and Employment—Rural
areas benefit significantly from minimum wage increases due to
the large share of low-wage workers.
Less-Educated Workers Face Limited Opportunities To Move Up to Good Jobs  —A look at the career prospects for workers without college experience, part of ERS research program about low-wage, low-skill workers.
Low-Skill
Jobs: A Shrinking Share of the Rural Economy—Although
low-skill jobs are disproportionately found in rural areas, the
rate of decline in the share of low-skill jobs was swifter there
in the 1990s than in urban areas. Upgrading skills within the
current mix of industries—rather than growth of new industries—was
a key factor in the declining share of rural low-skill jobs.
Women and African-Americans were most likely to see declines
in the likelihood of low-skill employment; Hispanics actually
experienced a small increase. For all major groups of workers,
declining low-skill employment was generally associated with
higher earnings.
"The Myth of the Rural Skills Gap: Rural Education and Training
in the New Economy"—A comprehensive assessment of the
rural education and training system identifies persistent weaknesses,
but also surprising strengths, of rural schools and students. Contact
Robert Gibbs for more information.
The
Role of Education: Promoting the Economic and Social Vitality
of Rural America—This publication reports findings
from a 2003 conference on rural education and economic development
sponsored by ERS, the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC),
and the Rural School and Community Trust. Offering insight into
the important and often fragile relationship between rural schools
and communities in America, the report comprises nine articles
divided into three area-specific sections: (1) Education, Human
Capital and the Local Economy, (2) Links Between Rural Schools
and Communities, and (3) Creating Successful Rural Schools and
Students.
Rural America:
Rural Community Colleges—The featured articles in this
issue of Rural America all deal with community colleges
and their growing role in rural development. Articles show how
rural community colleges better meet the needs of the rural economy,
how a furniture-making program at a rural college is used to
revitalize both a community and an industry, how the Rural Community
College Initiative challenges colleges in distressed areas to
become catalysts for change, and how others might replicate the
best development practices of community colleges.
Rural
College Graduates Make a Comeback—The college-educated
population grew at about the same rate in metro and nonmetro
areas during the 1990s. The number of college graduates had previously
grown much faster in metro areas. Meanwhile, the number of nonmetro
adults without a high school diploma has been falling steadily.
If the 1990s trend continues, nonmetro college-educated adults
could outnumber high school dropouts by 2010.
Rural Education At A Glance—This
report provides the latest information from the 2000 Census and
other Federal data sources about the education characteristics
of rural workers and counties. It documents both rising rural
adult educational attainment during the 1990s and a growing earnings
gap between the most- and least-educated individuals in rural
areas.
The report also finds that racial educational differences remain
large and that adult education levels remain far below the national
average in many rural counties, particularly in the South.
Wage Premiums for On-the-Job Computer
Use: A Metro and Nonmetro Analysis—An analysis of on-the-job
computer use shows that such use is more common in metro areas
than in nonmetro areas. A substantial wage premium, 10 to 11
percent, is associated with using a computer on the job, even
after other job and worker characteristics are taken into account.
However, this wage premium accounts for only a small proportion
of the wage differences between metro and nonmetro areas. In
nonmetro areas, the computer use wage premium is only about 6
percent. See also the related Amber Waves article, "Digital
Divide" Not to Blame for Rural Earnings Shortfall.
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