Job Growth along the Rural-Urban Continuum

The more urban the county, the greater the population growth during the 2010-to-2012 time period, according to my analysis of the Census Bureau's county population estimates by county rank on the Rural-Urban Continuum. But what about job growth along the Rural-Urban Continuum? Not surprisingly, the pattern is the same...

• The number of employed grew the fastest in the most urban counties between 2010 and 2012, up 2.9 percent. These are counties in metropolitan areas of 1 million or more people (a 1 on the Rural-Urban Continuum). 
• In smaller metros (2 or 3 on the continuum), the number of employed grew between 1.4 and 1.9 percent during those years. 
• In small-town America (nonmetropolitan counties ranking 4 to 7 on the continuum), the number of employed grew by only 0.8 percent. 
• In rural counties (8 or 9 on the continuum), employment climbed just 0.7 percent.  

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes and Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Employment Statistics, County Data