Is the welfare-to-work transition more difficult in some rural areas?
Although rural areas have become more culturally, politically, and economically integrated with urban areas, some State-level analyses suggest that rural areas lag urban areas in ease of welfare-to-work transition. In particular, welfare-to-work transitions were harder in rural areas characterized by consistently high-poverty and remote locations. In Mississippi, labor market areas far removed from urban centers were found to be less likely to create jobs matching the education level of TANF recipients. These areas are doubly disadvantaged because most include persistently high-poverty counties. Such remote areas have the poorest outlook for growth in unskilled jobs, such as low-paying service or retail jobs, the most likely employment available for welfare recipients. These labor markets also had the weakest network of licensed child care facilities and were least accessible by existing public transportation, factors which also work against the welfare-to-work transition. According to
