About half of the Nation's rural economies are dominated by a few industries and about half are diversified. The diversified economies fared better overall than the rural average, but so did economies that specialized in education and government. The strength of both was their stability. They did not grow especially fast, but they grew steadily. Other specialized economies enjoyed good employment growth or good income growth, but their growth was more erratic, making it difficult for local officials to plan for the changing needs of the area.
