The stock market for the second year in a row was very good to the RSA, although after the close of the fiscal year the market had lots of up and down days during October and November. The rural poor suffer from not even being on the public's radar screen. Most Americans don't realize, for instance, that poverty rates are higher outside metropolitan areas than inside, and that rural poverty is worsening even as the nation's economy thrives. A quarter of adults have no more than an eighth-grade education. County wide, only 39 new jobs were created last year, according to the state's commerce department, and plunging capital investment suggests that more jobs were lost than gained.
Turnover is small . . .
Since 1996, the labor force has been growing significantly faster than the working-age population. The trend validated the view that potential supply of workers was far larger than the jobless rate suggested, and that better employment prospects would pull a lot of bystanders into the labor market. And it has helped keep inflation and labor costs at bay. On the demand side, many companies that jettisoned older workers during downsizing now find their talents and experience desirable. And because many older workers were traumatized by layoffs, their wage demands remain subdued.