University News
Rural Illinois Perspectives: IIRA's Rural Life Poll Results
October 13, 2011
By Rebecca Leverette and Cynthia B. Struthers
MACOMB, IL -- The recent economic downturn has affected Americans across the country, leaving many without jobs.
According to the Illinois Rural Life Poll conducted by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University, it appears many of the state's residents have a pessimistic view of the economic prospects for their rural communities in the coming years. Meanwhile, they also recognize the importance of new job-creation strategies (for example, attracting high-paying jobs and increasing local job-advancement possibilities).
With a national unemployment rate hovering around nine percent, job creation and economic stability are on everyone's mind. For those 50 million Americans living in rural America, job creation and economic stability are extremely important because many rural communities were already struggling to keep people and jobs in their local areas.
In June 2011, President Obama acknowledged the unique problems of rural America by establishing the White House Rural Council. The Council is tasked with promoting economic growth in rural places. In August 2011, the Council released the report, "Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America." The report recognized the importance of rural America in "ensuring the strength of the economy, the affordability of our food, the independence of our energy supply and the vibrancy of small communities" and committed to helping rural communities by enacting policies that promote economic growth.
It is clear that job creation in rural America is on the minds of those in Washington and those living in rural Illinois. According to the White House Rural Council (2011), the Obama Administration is committed to helping rural communities by proposing policies that promote job growth and help to provide equal access to healthcare and education.
What do rural Illinoisans think about their economic prospects? The 2010 Rural Life Poll asked rural residents about their finances and their perceptions about issues related to the local economy.
When asked about the overall prospects for rural Illinois families in the next five years, most respondents were fairly pessimistic. More than 60 percent of respondents believed the economic prospects for rural Illinois families would be "worse" or "much worse" in the next five years. Only 16 percent believed economic prospects would be "better" or "much better."
When asked about the importance of various issues for their local economies in the next few years, most respondents said issues related to jobs were "important" or "very important." For example, a clear majority of residents rated the ability of the local economy to attract high-paying jobs as "important (35 percent) and "very important" (46.5 percent). Most residents also rated the availability of local jobs that match residents' education as "important" (39.4 percent) and "very important" (48.5 percent). Finally, local job-advancement possibilities were rated as "important" by 39.3 percent and "very important" (47.5 percent) of the respondents.
The Rural Life Poll is conducted every few years by IIRA. The 2010 poll was conducted in the late fall of 2010 with questionnaires sent to 8,000 rural households. Responses were received from 1,087 rural residents.
Western Illinois University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity institution. For more information about the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, visit IIRA's website at www.IIRA.org. If you care to comment about this column, please contact Timothy Collins at (800) 526-9943 or via email at T-Collins@wiu.edu.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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