Accessible Version
Changes in the U.S. Economy and Rural-Urban Employment Disparities, Accessible Data
Figure 1. Agricultural production and farm employment, 1969-2021
Year | Value of agricultural sector production (in billions) | Farm employment: proprietors and employees (in millions) |
---|---|---|
1969 | 312 | 4.0 |
1970 | 310 | 4.0 |
1971 | 316 | 3.9 |
1972 | 347 | 3.9 |
1973 | 479 | 3.9 |
1974 | 442 | 4.0 |
1975 | 411 | 3.9 |
1976 | 396 | 4.0 |
1977 | 387 | 3.9 |
1978 | 424 | 3.8 |
1979 | 467 | 3.8 |
1980 | 419 | 3.8 |
1981 | 424 | 3.8 |
1982 | 381 | 3.7 |
1983 | 328 | 3.9 |
1984 | 373 | 3.7 |
1985 | 345 | 3.5 |
1986 | 318 | 3.3 |
1987 | 325 | 3.3 |
1988 | 331 | 3.3 |
1989 | 355 | 3.2 |
1990 | 359 | 3.2 |
1991 | 338 | 3.1 |
1992 | 346 | 3.1 |
1993 | 336 | 3.1 |
1994 | 358 | 3.1 |
1995 | 339 | 3.1 |
1996 | 375 | 3.1 |
1997 | 371 | 3.1 |
1998 | 346 | 3.1 |
1999 | 326 | 3.2 |
2000 | 326 | 3.1 |
2001 | 331 | 3.1 |
2002 | 310 | 2.9 |
2003 | 339 | 2.8 |
2004 | 385 | 2.7 |
2005 | 361 | 2.7 |
2006 | 346 | 2.6 |
2007 | 409 | 2.7 |
2008 | 434 | 2.6 |
2009 | 391 | 2.6 |
2010 | 419 | 2.6 |
2011 | 483 | 2.6 |
2012 | 499 | 2.6 |
2013 | 533 | 2.6 |
2014 | 530 | 2.6 |
2015 | 473 | 2.7 |
2016 | 439 | 2.6 |
2017 | 443 | 2.6 |
2018 | 431 | 2.6 |
2019 | 410 | 2.6 |
2020 | 407 | 2.6 |
2021 | 478 | 2.6 |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, USDA Farm Income and Wealth Statistics
Figure 2. Manufacturing employment and output, 2001-2021
Change in U.S Maunfacturing (2001=100)
Year | Metro Employment | Nonmetro Employment | Manufacturing Value-add |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
2002 | 93 | 94 | 101 |
2003 | 88 | 91 | 107 |
2004 | 87 | 90 | 114 |
2005 | 86 | 90 | 117 |
2006 | 86 | 89 | 124 |
2007 | 85 | 87 | 128 |
2008 | 82 | 84 | 126 |
2009 | 74 | 74 | 114 |
2010 | 71 | 72 | 120 |
2011 | 73 | 74 | 121 |
2012 | 74 | 75 | 120 |
2013 | 75 | 77 | 124 |
2014 | 76 | 78 | 126 |
2015 | 77 | 79 | 127 |
2016 | 77 | 79 | 127 |
2017 | 78 | 79 | 131 |
2018 | 79 | 81 | 137 |
2019 | 80 | 81 | 139 |
2020 | 76 | 76 | 133 |
2021 | 77 | 78 | 141 |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.N. Industrial Development Organization
Figure 3. Metro and nonmetro exposure to the manufacturing industry
Percent of Total
Income | Employment | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | 2010 | 2021 | 2001 | 2010 | 2021 | |
Metro counties | 12.6 | 9.2 | 8.1 | 9.6 | 6.5 | 6.0 |
Nonmetro counties | 19.3 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.1 | 10.2 | 10.6 |
Figure 4. Mining Activity and Employment, 1998-2021
Change in Mining Industry Activity and Employment, (2000=100)
Year | Employment, oil and gas extraction | Employment, coal mining |
---|---|---|
1998 | 112 | 118 |
1999 | 104 | 109 |
2000 | 100 | 100 |
2001 | 100 | 103 |
2002 | 98 | 103 |
2003 | 96 | 97 |
2004 | 97 | 98 |
2005 | 100 | 102 |
2006 | 107 | 108 |
2007 | 116 | 107 |
2008 | 129 | 113 |
2009 | 129 | 113 |
2010 | 127 | 112 |
2011 | 137 | 121 |
2012 | 150 | 117 |
2013 | 158 | 108 |
2014 | 160 | 101 |
2015 | 157 | 89 |
2016 | 140 | 70 |
2017 | 115 | 71 |
2018 | 114 | 72 |
2019 | 114 | 70 |
2020 | 101 | 55 |
2021 | 90 | 52 |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Energy Information Administration
Figure 5. Occupational employment shares among working-age adults by commuting zone population density and occupational skill-level, relative to 1970 mean: 1970-2015
The figure shows the relative prevalence of occupations of different skill levels by the population density of commuting zones. It includes three charts, one for low-skill occupations at the far left, one for mid-skill occupations in the middle, and one for high-skill occupations at the far right. The vertical, y-axis represents the share of employment in occupations of that skill-level in individual commuting zones relative to the aggregate mean share of employment in occupations of that skill-level in 1970. The horizontal, x-axis represents the natural log of population density of commuting zones in 1970. The charts include data for five separate time periods: 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2015.
Each of the lines in the chart for low-skill occupations slope downwards and to the right, indicating that low-skill occupations are relatively more prevalent in less dense commuting zones and less prevalent in more dense commuting zones. The line for 2015 has a slight uptick at the far right not present for other years, indicating that less-skilled occupations have become somewhat more prevalent in more dense commuting zones relative to earlier years. The lines for 1980, 1990, and 2000 are each slightly lower than the line for the decade preceding it, indicating that low-skill occupations have become moderately less prevalent across commuting zones of all densities over those 30 years.
The lines for 1970 and 1980 in the mid-skill occupations chart slope upwards and to the right, indicating that mid-skill occupations were relatively more prevalent in more dense commuting zones and less prevalent in less dense commuting zones at those times. The slope of the line for 1980 is smaller than the line for 1970, indicating that more-dense commuting zones had less of an advantage in terms of the presence of mid-skill occupations than in the earlier decade. The lines for 1990 and 2000 in the mid-skill occupations chart arc from left to right, starting around the same point as the lines for the earlier decades, rising to about the middle of the chart and then falling back down to around their starting point at the far left of the chart, indicating that mid-skill occupations were most prevalent in commuting zones of moderate density, and less prevalent in both less-dense and more-dense commuting zones, during those time periods. For all points but the starting point, the 1990 line is lower than the 1980 line, indicating that mid-skill occupations were less prevalent in this time period than they were in the earlier decade, especially in more-dense commuting zones. For all points but the starting point, the 2000 line is lower than the 1990 line, indicating that mid-skill occupations were less prevalent in this time period than they were in the earlier decade, especially in more-dense commuting zones. The line for 2015 is about flat for the first half of the chart and then arcs slowly downward and to the right, indicating that mid-skill occupations are less prevalent in more-dense commuting zones than they are in less-dense and moderately dense commuting zones. At all points the 2015 line is lower than the 2000 line, indicating that mid-skill occupations are less prevalent in 2015 than in earlier years across all commuting zone densities.
Each of the lines in the chart for high-skill occupations slope upwards and to the right, indicating that high-skill occupations are relatively less prevalent in less dense commuting zones and more prevalent in more dense commuting zones. The line for 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2015 are each slightly higher than the line for the time period preceding it, indicating that high-skill occupations have become more prevalent across commuting zones of all densities over those 30 years. The slope of the line for 1990, 2000, and 2015 is larger than it is for 1970 and 1980, indicating that the relative advantage of more dense commuting zones in terms of the presence of high-skill occupations has strengthened in recent years.
Notes: Figure is constructed using U.S. Census of Population data for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000, and pooled American Community Survey (ACS) data for years 2014 through 2016, sourced from IPUMS (Ruggles et al. 2018). Occupational classifications are harmonized across decades using the classification scheme developed by Dorn (2009) and distilled to the level of 722 consistent local labor markets (AKA, Commuting Zones) following the procedures in Autor and Dorn (2013). Each plotted point represents approximately 5 percent of the working-age population in the relevant year.
Source: David H. Autor. (2019). Work of the Past, Work of the Future. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, pgs. 1-32.
Figure 6. Overall employment change by metro status, 2000-2022
Change in total employment (2007 = 100)
Year | Metro | Nonmetro |
---|---|---|
2000 | 95 | 97 |
2001 | 95 | 97 |
2002 | 94 | 96 |
2003 | 94 | 96 |
2004 | 95 | 97 |
2005 | 97 | 98 |
2006 | 99 | 99 |
2007 | 100 | 100 |
2008 | 100 | 99 |
2009 | 95 | 95 |
2010 | 94 | 94 |
2011 | 96 | 95 |
2012 | 97 | 96 |
2013 | 99 | 96 |
2014 | 101 | 97 |
2015 | 103 | 98 |
2016 | 105 | 98 |
2017 | 107 | 99 |
2018 | 109 | 99 |
2019 | 110 | 100 |
2020 | 103 | 95 |
2021 | 106 | 97 |
2022 | 111 | 99 |
Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Annual Averages