For those of five Americans who still live in rural areas, long -distance work is not a luxury, but a lifeline. And more and more of these potential workers are at risk unless we can summon the collective will to provide them with remote employment opportunities.
Here is the good news: a majority in rural regions are ready to use these opportunities – we find innovative opportunities to give you a chance.
This is the result of the new research, which recently commissioned this generation, the non -profit organization that I do. We went into the field, knew that the middle of the waiter and older workers everywhere-they have a growing part of the employment population are struggling with long-term unemployment. And knowing that long -term, persistent poverty in rural districts is far more common than in urban counties.
In order to learn more about this particularly challenged subgroup, we have teamed up with YouGov to examine more than 500 people aged 45 or older who live in rural areas in 17 countries, which make up the Appalachia and Delta regions. Almost half was currently unemployed.
We first confirmed what we suspected: hurt many of these people. A home repair, a health emergency, car fighting: such too large, ungangled costs are disasters that are waiting for them to happen. Sixty percent of the people aged 45 and over, which we interviewed, say that they would not be able to cover an unexpected effort of $ 1,000. In fact, 37% do not have enough money to cover their daily needs, and another 32% only make ends. Only every fourth says that he can meet his needs and save for the future. Unemployment is a deep hole when it strikes it. And 45% of the unemployed in our survey have been unemployed for more than two years.
It was also not surprising that the local economy on the supply side simply did not create enough jobs. More eye opening was the way in which persistent precarity shaped the expectation of our respondents, which is a good job. When asked to define a “high -quality job”, their answers had nothing to do with the necessary levels of education or technical skills. Instead, they focused on three essentials: competitive wages, predictable full -time lessons and steady employment. Using these basic criteria as a definition, we only informed 6% that the area in which they live supports “many” such high -quality jobs, while 35% said there were “only a few or none”.
When we started looking for solutions, things became really interesting. A possible option requirement for large parts unemployed or underemployed rural land
Workers to move to where the good jobs are-a non-carer trained. Only 24% in our survey consider the relocation as a “somewhat likely” option, while only 8% say that they would “very likely” move if there is a better chance. That inertia reflects a strong mix of uncertainty about the potential financial burdens. It is in line with a wider decline in geographical mobility in the United States, which, according to Research from Brooking’s institution, has reached “Historical Loques”.
Apart from an increase in direct investments in rural America, what else remains? Just one option: expansion of remote working opportunities. Among the various factors that every company should take into account before such an investment, we have focused on a key variable to try out the willingness of the local workforce. And here our survey results offered a big surprise.
In particular, although 71% of all respondents have not participated in a formal vocational training or skills development programs in the past three years, 50% informed us that they are interested or are very interested in learning new skills to promote their career. Even more – 75% – say that they would take courses or learn new skills in order to make themselves more competitive for long -distance work opportunities.
Using these options will not be easy. Even after companies have convinced themselves of the business case, they still have to improve their skills and those of their providers and partners to create online training programs that are inexpensive, convey the agreed registration information and that are clearly relevant for securing jobs-all questions that our respondents are critical. Future public funds that are invested in training must also assume these concerns.
However, at least a deeply rooted social problem is at least a big new political program for which it is necessary to fulfill it. The rural middle of the career and older workers confirmed our survey, are ready and willing to acquire the necessary skills when and when the opportunity appears.
At the moment, however, the counter -reaction against remote work is a decline in such jobs. As a first step, we have to expand our current debate about the advantages and disadvantages of long-distance work and look beyond the effects on corporate culture, productivity and well-being of the employees. Yes, managing this compromise is complex. But it is also mostly a big problem in the city.
For rural Americans, the missions in the search for profitable ways to expand the distant work are around much more fundamental – today’s job market, which otherwise seems to be able to let them down even further.
The opinions that were expressed in Fortune.com comments are exclusively the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of against Assets.
