In both the UK and the EC, the 1980s have seen rural issues assuming a higher position in the policy‐makers' agenda but in order to formulate and implement rural policy measures, governments and their agencies first need information. This article examines some of the main sources of data on rural employment in England and reviews the extent to which they lend themselves to the analysis of rural issues. The definition of rurality adopted is clearly critical though different definitions may be needed for different purposes. A definition developed by Denham and Craig is discussed and its use in a project designed to assess the uptake of training in rural areas describe