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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Employment and unemployment

Rural Unemployment Rates Declined for All Education Levels from 2010 to 2015
Line chart showing unemployment rates from 2010 through 2015 for rural residents with the following levels of educational attainment: less than high school, high school, some college, associate's degree, bachelor's degree or higher.
Date: 2017
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Involuntary Part-Time Employment: A Slow and Uneven Economic Recovery
Examines trends in involuntary part-time employment from 2000 through 2015. Includes data for rural men and rural women, compared to the overall population. Also compares rural and urban involuntary part-time work for those below the poverty line before, during, and after the recession.
Author(s): Rebecca Glauber
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Carsey School of Public Policy
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A Glance at the Age Structure and Labor Force Participation of Rural America
Provides data and charts comparing the the age distribution for rural and urban areas. Also includes rural-urban comparison of labor force participation, earnings, and educational attainment, with information by age and sex.
Author(s): Jennifer Cheeseman Day, Donald Hays, Adam Smith
Date: 12/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Poverty and Employment Indicators for Nonmetro Counties by Educational Attainment, 2009-14
Bar chart comparing rural counties where 20% or more of the adult population lack a high school diploma to other rural counties, for poverty, child poverty, and unemployment.
Date: 01/2016
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Columbia Gorge Region, Oregon and Washington: 2016 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner
Describes how the communities within the Columbia Gorge region took a collaborative approach by developing a 15-member community advisory committee that included Medicaid recipients and Latino residents. Top concerns addressed by this committee were food, housing, jobs and transportation, along with improved access to dental and mental health, and better coordination among social services and healthcare providers. Projects included expanding the use and training of community health workers (CHWs) to assist Latino residents when navigating programs outside of healthcare and the development of a fruit and vegetable prescription program to support increased intake of healthy foods. A collective impact specialist was hired to help solve community problems through collaborative efforts, and to find grants and other sources of funding to support their projects. Columbia Gorge Region is a recipient of the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Prize.
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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After a Parent Left Employment, One in Five Children Lost Private Insurance
Examines children's loss of private health insurance after parental job loss. Includes data on rural compared to urban privately insured children. Reports that, after parental job loss, rural and urban children were similarly impacted related to health insurance coverage.
Author(s): Kristin Smith
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Carsey School of Public Policy
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Nonmetro Unemployment Rates Have Declined, but Remain Highest for Adults with the Lowest Levels of Education
Line chart showing unemployment rates for rural adults year-by-year for 2007-2014, for those with less than a high school diploma, a high school diploma, some college, an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree, or graduate/professional degree.
Date: 10/2015
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Unequal Lives: The State of Black Women and Families in the Rural South
Analyzes the health and well-being of low-income Black women in nine rural counties across Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Identifies barriers to success and economic security, including poverty, low educational attainment, and inadequate access to public infrastructure, healthcare, and more. Includes statistics and demographics for each of the states and counties included in the study.
Date: 07/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative
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2015 County Health Rankings Key Findings Report
Provides information on county-level health disparities by analyzing health factors and outcomes throughout the U.S. Covers social and economic factors, including poverty, income inequality, employment, and community safety.
Date: 2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
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Rural Employment in Recession and Recovery
Describes the impact of the 2007-2008 recession and the recovery that followed, with a focus on rural employment. Discusses regional variation in unemployment. Compares rural to urban employment growth from 2007 to 2014.
Author(s): Thomas Hertz, Lorin Kusmin, Alexander Marré, Timothy Parker
Citation: Amber Waves
Date: 10/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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