Disabled or Just Desperate? Rural Americans Turn to Disability as Jobs Dry Up

Across large swaths of the country, disability has become a force that has reshaped scores of mostly white, almost exclusively rural communities, where as many as one-third of working-age adults live on monthly disability checks, according to a Washington Post analysis of Social Security Administration statistics.

"Disabled or Just Desperate? Rural Americans Turn to Disability as Jobs Dry Up" is from the March 30, 2017 National section of The Washington Post. It was written by Terrence McCoy and narrated by Jill Melancon.