In 2017, the Center for American Progress described the Midwest as a region “left behind by the economy” thanks to “globalization, the decline of manufacturing, and the growing economic dominance of coastal metropolises.”
Further analysis from the institute concluded that the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs was most likely the prime cause of economic crisis in the region. Indeed, in 2010, the Midwest had 9.3% fewer workers than at the beginning of the decade and had earned itself the moniker the “Rust Belt,” which refers to the region’s ongoing loss of factory jobs. Between 2000 and 2016, the U.S. lost a whopping five million manufacturing jobs, of which 1.5 million were in the Midwest.
