Knowledge Economy Growing in Rural Areas

Rural areas are increasingly developing strategies for building a knowledge economy, according to a recent issue of the Main Street Economist. High knowledge occupations account for 20.2 percent of employment in metro areas but only 14.8 percent in rural areas; however, they are growing in rural areas. In 2004, producer service industries–professional and business services, financial and information services–led rural job growth with an annual increase of 4 percent over the previous year, while jobs in consumer services in education, health care and retail trade grew by just 1.6 percent.

Rural leaders have adopted a variety of strategies to build knowledge-based activities in their regions. Among them are:

* Nurturing a high-quality workforce. Rural counties with higher concentrations of high skill labor were found to have higher concentrations of high-knowledge occupations.

* Tapping institutions of higher learning. Rural counties with a college or university had a higher concentration of high knowledge occupations.

* Leveraging scenic amenities. Scenic rural places were found to have higher levels of economic, population, and income growth.

* Building a 21st Century Infrastructure. For example, rural Garrett County in Western Maryland, in cooperation with the county community college, helped supply high speed Internet facilities to an information incubator that will house 20 start-up companies.

* Building regional partnerships. To overcome size and remoteness, partnerships may be the primary key to sustaining rural knowledge-based activity. Partnerships at both the regional and firm level have proven successful in places as varied as Akron, Colorado and Maddock, North Dakota.

Related Links:

* Rural America’s Emerging Knowledge Economy http://www.kansascityfed.org/RuralCenter/mainstreet/MainStMain.htm

http://www.nga.org/center/frontAndCenter/1,1188,C_FRONT_CENTER%5ED_8482,00.html