Nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) job growth accelerated during 1987, but nonmetro real earnings grew slower than during earlier years of the U.S. economic recovery that began in 1982. Nonmetro jobs grew 2.5 percent during 1987, almost 1 percentage point faster than the average annual rate for 1982-86. Nonmetro real earnings grew 2 percent, nearly half a percentage point slower than in previous recovery years. In both jobs and earnings, nonmetro growth lagged metro, but by a smaller margin than earlier. The nonmetro Northeast had the best growth record. Nationwide, nonmetro goods-producing industries grew faster than their metro counterparts, but metro service-producing Industries outperformed nonmetro service producers.