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Agriculture is only 1.1% of Cleveland County employment. The county's 3 largest profession sectors are:
Education/Health/Social Service: 26.6%
Manufacturing: 18.9%
Retail Trade: 13.4%
In all of North Carolina, only 1.4% of people work in agriculture, which is in line with most of the country and a highly developed/automated food system in the Western world. So the vast majority of people, even in rural areas, do not have any full time income based ties to agriculture.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,706,106 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CLT4
Agriculture is only 1.1% of Cleveland County employment. The county's 3 largest profession sectors are:
Education/Health/Social Service: 26.6%
Manufacturing: 18.9%
Retail Trade: 13.4%
In all of North Carolina, only 1.4% of people work in agriculture, which is in line with most of the country and a highly developed/automated food system in the Western world. So the vast majority of people, even in rural areas, do not have any full time income based ties to agriculture.
Um. . .I was trying to tactfully address another poster's argument. Even if the person is not a farmer, if they own their house, if it's in a dying town, that is real estate that can not be turned over quickly to head for a city. Plus the real estate value won't be anything like real estate in the NY metro.
Um. . .I was trying to tactfully address another poster's argument. Even if the person is not a farmer, if they own their house, if it's in a dying town, that is real estate that can not be turned over quickly to head for a city. Plus the real estate value won't be anything like real estate in the NY metro.
I trust you understand where I'm coming from.
Ah yes, I totally get what you mean now! Sorry about that. I thought you meant most people are farmers. I see now.
The loss of population in rural NC is a byproduct of the job creation that is taking place in our larger cities.
Rural population loss is a byproduct of manufacturing jobs being automated and/or moving overseas. Even farms have become more automated over time. Less people are needed to do these jobs. Many small town communities were company towns with a single or just a few major employers. When those jobs either became automated or relocated, they had devastating effects on their communities. No opportunity means no town eventually and people leave because they have to. It's a death spiral as time marches on and it's going to be hard to reverse no matter what any politician promises. If manufacturing returns, it won't be in the same way that it used to be. Fewer people with more (and different) skills will replace the labor intensive processes that used to make products.
It's true that job training can help position the displaced into new jobs in new sectors elsewhere but that requires money, something that the "leaders" of our state don't seem to keen on spending in the amounts necessary to make it happen.
This is happening all across America with the shift from family farmers to corporate farming. If you're not one of the remaining family farmers, a manager for a corporate farm, for working in a farming service industry there are few jobs left in rural America. Basically without safety net social programs like; food stamps, medicare/medicaid, section 8, etc. we would be seeing a migration out of rural areas that would rival what happened on the Great Plain in the Dust Bowl era.
Many of them are in the northeast section of the state, almost all rural. "Despite substantial growth in some areas of the state, a large portion of North Carolina has seen little to no population increase. Of North Carolina’s 553 municipalities, 225, or about 41%, experienced population decline from 2010-2016. An additional 192 reported growth that was lower than 6.4%, the state’s growth rate since 2010. In total, three of every four North Carolina municipalities have lost population or grown slower than the state since 2010. The northeast corridor of the state has been the hardest hit, as the top 10 municipalities with greatest percentage declines from 2010-2016 have been from Bertie, Northampton, or Washington counties."
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,706,106 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by CLT4
Ah yes, I totally get what you mean now! Sorry about that. I thought you meant most people are farmers. I see now.
NP.
It's easy enough to head elsewhere or to the city if you are renting, not so much if you're a property owner. In many cases, if someone is a farmer, there could be land that's been in the family for 1 or 2 hundred years, or more. That's a really hard decision.
Many farmers also worked in factories that are now shut down.
Then there's the fact that if you're over 40 you might have a real problem finding work, any work, anywhere.
It's easy enough to say MOVE!. It's neither easy nor practical for most.
I literally live on the edge. Most people who live in the City of Kings Mountain are looking at Charlotte & Gastonia for work & shopping. Most of the rest of the county is focused on Shelby. Some who live in the northernmost part of the county are focused on Hickory. The attitudes are completely different.
This is a national problem, but states deal with it differently.
Rural population loss is a byproduct of manufacturing jobs being automated and/or moving overseas. Even farms have become more automated over time. Less people are needed to do these jobs. Many small town communities were company towns with a single or just a few major employers. When those jobs either became automated or relocated, they had devastating effects on their communities. No opportunity means no town eventually and people leave because they have to. It's a death spiral as time marches on and it's going to be hard to reverse no matter what any politician promises. If manufacturing returns, it won't be in the same way that it used to be. Fewer people with more (and different) skills will replace the labor intensive processes that used to make products.
It's true that job training can help position the displaced into new jobs in new sectors elsewhere but that requires money, something that the "leaders" of our state don't seem to keen on spending in the amounts necessary to make it happen.
This is true, but there's more going on than the death of manufacturing. Jobs are leaving small town NC for the bigger cities. Remember how Pantry left Sanford (if my memory is correct) for Cary. Or Rocky Mount losing RBC to Raleigh. Wilkesboro lost Lowes to Mooresville. Corning recently left Hickory for Charlotte. There's a trend here.
The reason that is constantly given for these type of moves is the lack of talent in the smaller towns. Jobs aren't going into places where the local population can't support the job. Those who reside in rural areas, have a skill, and can't find work should relocate.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 07-11-2017 at 01:57 PM..
Exactly, for many people their small town is home. The reason population growth will continue to decline is not many people from out of state want to call their town home (so they don't get inward migration), but just enough young people from the town are eager to move out. Typically they lose the most ambitious young people to the cities.
For those that don't have a skill, moving to the big city to work at Walmart just means you are going to be even more broke.
These areas need the population to rally around education, job skills, and training. Until that happens, the jobs aren't coming back and these areas will continue to decline in population. Unfortunately, even with more skills, the knowledge based economy thrives off clustering of industry. The era of a small town with one big employer than employs everyone in town is dwindling in most industries.
Nah...it's easier to blame immigrants and minorities......
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