From the Field

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Rural America

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service has published an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 in rural areas. It found that the nonmetro counties with the highest rates of infection were in manufacturing-dependent and farming-dependent counties, while the lowest rates of infection were associated with nonmetro recreation-dependent counties. The analysis also compared the unemployment and labor force participation rates between metro and nonmetro areas before and during the pandemic.