Ð This paper combines two complementary data sets to present a disaggregated spatial pro®le of poverty in the Brazilian Northeast, and to investigate the importance of nonagricultural activities for its rural dwellers. We present both univariate and multivariate pro®les of nonagricultural employment and discuss its determinants. While the main occupational dierence between the rural poor and the rural nonpoor in Brazil seems to be the greater reliance of the former on paid agricultural employment (vis-a-vis own cultivation), rather than access to nonagricultural activities, the evidence nevertheless suggests that diversi®cation into this growing sector provides both an important complement to the budgets of the poor, and possibly a self-insurance mechanism against negative shocks. Despite the substantial heterogeneity of the sector, two general ®ndings are robust: returns to education are comparatively high; and location in relation to urban areas is an important determinant of both employment and earnings in rural nonagricultural activities. Ó