Increasingly, ‘farm’ and ‘rural’ are not synonymous
More and more of America's farmers rely on off-farm income at the same time that agriculture accounts for a smaller share of rural employment nationwide, said a University of Missouri study on Monday. The analysis, commissioned by agricultural lender CoBank, said the majority of principal farm operators worked off the farm and off-farm income accounted for 82 percent of farm household income.
Rural jobs wiped out by coronavirus, says survey
Fifteen percent of rural Americans surveyed in the past week said they had either lost their job or were laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic, and an additional 14 percent said they were worried they would lose their jobs, according to the results of a survey released on Thursday. (No paywall)
New report says youth employment is crucial to global food security
Young people across the world could be the driving force behind the future of agriculture, says a new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The report emphasizes that supporting youth entrepreneurship can help ensure food security in low- and middle-income countries around the world.
Two of three rural counties gained jobs in past year
"Two out of every three rural counties gained jobs between June 2014 and June of this year," reports the Daily Yonder, drawing on data released by the Labor Department.
Rural unemployment rate is down
"Job gains in rural America have returned," says the Daily Yonder, citing Labor Department data that show there were 232,000 more jobs in rural counties than one year earlier.
USDA launches three-year employment and training pilots
Pilot projects in 10 states across the nation will spend three years trying different ways to help food-stamp recipients acquire training and find jobs, or better-paying jobs, so they no longer need help buying groceries, said the USDA.
Ten pilot projects will test food-stamps-to-work ideas
The Obama administration will announce today "grants to 10 states looking for a better way to get food-stamp recipients back to work," says NPR. The pilot projects are the result of a compromise by lawmakers over food stamp cuts in the 2014 farm law.
Time limit on food stamps will disqualify 1 million people
Roughly 1 million people - 2 percent of current enrollment - will be cut off of food stamps during 2016 as states re-impose the three-month limit on benefits to unemployed adults from ages 18-50 who are not disabled or raising children...
Rural employment remains below pre-recession level
Some 779 rural counties lost jobs since mid-2013, says USDA's Economic Research Service, compared to 1,206 that held steady or notched gains.
Many food bank clients don’t earn enough from their jobs
The largest U.S. hunger-relief charity, Feeding America, says two out of five client households "have at least one member that has worked full-time but still utilize charitable food programs to make ends meet."
Low jobless rate in Plains states – a silver lining with a cloud
Unemployment rates in the Plains state are lower than the U.S. average during the continued slow recovery from recession, says the Daily Yonder, which summarizes a USDA report on the matter.