Nonmetro areas, particularly farm areas, lagged behind metro areas in employment growth during the 1976-82 period. This reversed a pattern of faster nonmetro growth occurring in the late sixties and early seventies. Nonmetro growth rates fell far below metro rates in the South and West. Economic conditions improved less in nonmetro than metro areas during the 1976-79 business expansion, and conditions declined more in nonmetro than metro areas during the 1979-82 recession. If these trends continue, specific programs to deal with this problem of slower rural growth may be needed.