As a transient society, not everyone in a typical rural community knows each other. Neighborly visits, once prevalent in rural areas, are no longer characteristic. Job growth is slower in rural America with unemployment and underemployment chronic problems. Increasingly, there's a call for economic development in rural areas. But don't assume economic development and rural development are the same.
Economic development is concerned with overall business activity and jobs.
Profits may be shown without the community sharing the income. Company profits may indicate economic growth for the area, but the community at large may not benefit or improve in quality of life.5 Compounded with the reality that economic expansion tends to occur in urban areas, resources to help people in getting out of poverty are unavailable in most rural areas. Using Trends for Needs Assessment Extension programs for rural areas ought to pay careful attention to the changing nature of rural life. Let's use the example of changing family trends to show the implications for Extension programming. Although not perceived as the norm in rural communities, women in the workforce, dual-career families, and farm families opting for outside sources of income are real trends likely to continue.