Editing Bollinger County, Missouri (section)

==Economy==
Like many [[rural]] areas, the [[standard of living]] in Bollinger County is significantly lower than many other places. In 2008, the [[cost of living]] index in Bollinger County was low (76.0) compared to the U.S. average of 100. The [[unemployment rate]] in Bollinger County is also lower than the state and national levels. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the October 2008 unemployment rate in the United States was 6.7 percent whereas in Missouri it was 6.5 percent. According to economic research compiled by the [[Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis]], the October 2008 unemployment rate in Bollinger County was 5.6 percent.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=March 20, 2018|title=Unemployment Rate in Bollinger County, MO|url=http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/MOBOURN?cid=1074|language=en}}</ref>

The most common industries providing employment in Bollinger County consist of [[manufacturing]] (25.5%), [[Social work|educational, health and social services]] (14.7%), [[construction]] (12.3%), and [[Retailing|retail trade]] (10.8%) while other kinds of industries account for the rest (36.7%). The most common industries for males in Bollinger County are construction (20%), [[agriculture]], [[forestry]], [[fishing]] and/or [[hunting]] (8%), [[Trucking industry in the United States|truck transportation]] (5%), transportation equipment (5%), metal and metal products (4%), repair and maintenance (4%), and paper (4%). The most common occupations for males in the county included driving/sales workers and truck drivers (9%), other production occupations including supervisors (8%), electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance and repair occupations including supervisors (6%), vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers and repairers (6%), metal and plastic workers (6%), carpenters (5%), and hand-laborers and material movers (5%). For females, the most common industries are health care (16%), educational services (9%), apparel (8%), accommodation and food services (6%), finance and insurance (4%), public administration (4%), and metal and metal products (4%). The most common occupations for females includes other production occupations including supervisors (9%), textile, apparel and furnishings workers (8%), secretaries and administrative assistants (6%), other sales and related workers including supervisors (4%), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (4%), other office and administrative support workers including supervisors (3%), and retail sales workers not including cashiers (3%).

A majority of employees in Bollinger County (78%) receive a private wage or salary, 10% work in public or government jobs, 11% is self-employed while another 1% performs some sort of unpaid family work. A majority of workers in the county (76%) drive their own cars to work, 16% carpools, 5% works at home, 2% walks, 1% takes a bus or trolley bus, and less than 1 percent rides to work on a motorcycle or uses some other form of transportation.

===Agriculture===
Like it is in many rural areas, agriculture and farming plays a critical role in the economy of Bollinger County. The average size of a farm in the county is {{convert|250|acre|km2|0}}. The average value of agricultural products sold per farm was $21,451 while the average total farm production expenses per farm was $19,413. The average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm was $36,801 and 31.69% of land in farms consisted of harvested croplands. In the county, 93.65% of all farms were operated by a family or one individual. The average age of the principal farm owner in the county was 56 years old. The average number of cattle and calves per {{convert|100|acre|km2}} of all land in farms in the county was 14.10 while 0.61% of all cattle and cows were used for milking. There were {{convert|33|acre|m2}} of land in orchards in Bollinger County. The most common crops are soybeans for beans with {{convert|20279|acre|km2|0}} harvested, corn for grain with {{convert|10057|acre|km2|0}} harvested, and all wheat for grain with {{convert|2857|acre|km2|0}} harvested. {{Citation needed|date=October 2015}}