Laboring for Less: Working but Poor in Rural America.

Abstract

Most of the nonmetropolitan poor live in a household with at least one worker. In 1987, 70% of nonmetro poor family heads who were not ill, disabled, or retired worked for at least part of the year, and 24% corked full time, year-round. The employed proportion of the poor was significantly larger in nonmetro than metro areas. Despite a lengthy economic recovery, poverty rates among nonmetro in 1987 were significantly higher than during the recovery of the late 1970s. Poverty rates for nonmetro working families were much higher than for metro working families. These patterns of poverty rates were similar in all sections of the country. About 66% of the nonmetro working poor -re found in three occupational categories: services; farming, forestry, and fishing; and operators, fabricators, and laborers. Factors contributing to increases in the nonmetro working poor include: (1) the relatively high nonmetro unemployment rate for this stage of the economic recovery; (2) the large numbers of discouraged workers and involuntarily part-time workers found in nonmetro areas; (3) decreases in rural wage rates, after adjustment for inflation; (4) rel,tive concentration of nonmetro employment in declining industries; (5) inadequate education and skills; and (6) reductions in federal and state benefits and programs for low-income working families. A number of legislative proposals mow before Congress would benefit the rural working poor. The principal linkage between this document and the field of education is provided by a two-page section on Employment and Training Programs (p.49-52) and a single table (p.52) comparing Federal spending for such programs for FY 1981 and FY 1989. (SV) LABORING FOR LESS Working but Poor in Rural America U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Once of Educahonsi Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) his document has been reproduced as received I rom the person or organization originating IL O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL IN MICROFICHE ONLY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY r4rf Jeer ppima of view or opoionsststed dOCU' ; ment do not necessarily represent official I TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES I OERI position or policy 11111111111111=1111111116 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). 111111119111CIMITIMMEMENNIak Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2 fvur