2 Poverty is particularly associated with old age, and low wage employment. Large numbers of rural workers have part-time or seasonal employment. In 1994 the average weekly earnings of agricultural workers was 217.18 compared with an average across England of 299.50. In the late 1990s, agriculture is widely seen as under even greater financial strain. Rural areas often have a wider spread of incomes than do urban areas.
Deprivation exists in many rural areas, but is much more covert than urban deprivation.
A large country house may have a small tied cottage within its grounds. The relationship between self reported morbidity and indices of deprivation has been shown to break down in non-metropolitan areas. There is general agreement that standard deprivation indices are not sufficiently sensitive for use in rural areas. For example car ownership can be seen as an index of wealth, but in the absence of public transport it is a necessary expense, further compounding problems of poverty. An index of deprivation which is relevant and reliable is sorely needed if resources are to be distributed equitably in rural areas.