According to a recent census report, one in every three U.S. counties is being deserted owing to aging population and weakened economy.
The new 2012 census estimates, which were released Thursday show that as many as one in three U.S. counties are dying off and being deserted as people leave to find jobs and settle down elsewhere. According to the report, the top two reasons for the decline is a weakened economy and an aging population. The U.S. is encountering its most sluggish growth since the Great Depression.
It also highlights the increasing economic importance of foreign-born residents in the U.S. as without immigrants, many metropolitan cities of the country would have reported flat or negative population growth in the last year.
"Immigrants are innovators, entrepreneurs, they're making things happen. They create jobs," said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, at an immigration conference in his state last week. Saying Michigan should be a top destination for legal immigrants to come and boost Detroit and other struggling areas, Snyder made a special appeal: "Please come here."
The Midwest and Northeast of the country are experiencing the worst of immigration problems as many residents, who have been living there for years are migrating to explore job opportunities in the South and West. Reportedly, these two areas have sustained the biggest hits in the housing bust.
"These counties are in a pretty steep downward spiral," said Kenneth Johnson, a senior demographer and sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire, who researched the findings. "The young people leave and the older adults stay in place and age. Unless something dramatic changes -- for instance, new development such as a meatpacking plant to attract young Hispanics -- these areas are likely to have more and more natural decrease."
