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The 1960 employment was comprised of 32.6 percent on farms; .13.6 percent in_ forestry, mining, construction, and manufacturing; and 53.8 percent in the trade and service sector. A comparison of employment data in Table 11 shows that the agricultural industry has been the only category suffering significant employment losses. However, the losses in agricultural employment have been quite similar to the losses in agricultural employment in the remainder of the state and nation. While there has been some growth in the other employment sections, their growth has been at a slower rate than the state and national trends. This illustrates that the lack of good growth in the nonagricultural sectors has caused the economy of the Big Blue Basin to lag behind the growth rates of the state and the nation. A comparison of the population growth of the Big Blue Basin and that of the state for the past two decades indicates: 1. The loss of farm population in the basin has been nearly the same as the loss of farm population throughout the state. 2. The small growth in the rural nonfarm category has been quite similar to the state trend. 3. The 20 percent gain in urban population has been decidedly less than the nearly 47 percent gain for all urban areas in the state. TABLE 11 EMPLOYMENT IN THE BIG BLUE BASIN Agriculture Forestry and Mining Contract Construction Manufacturing Transportation, Communication and Public Utilities Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Service Other TOTAL 1950 1 7,372 82 2,152 2,771 1960 1 2,600 47 1,923 3,275 2,428 1,284 5,788 953 9,588 738 38,624 2,417 1,350 5,487 730 7,584 957 40,902 SOURCE: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, U. S. Census of Population 39