U.S. Oil Boom Revitalizing Rust Belt Economy
The American Midwest is enjoying a one-two punch of an economic boom thanks to hydraulic fracturing. The relatively new and still controversial technique is not only generating more energy, it’s also sparking a revitalization of old industries and boosting economically depressed cities and regions.
In whole swaths of Ohio, for example from the state’s industrial northeast to its agricultural center oil and gas fracking is helping to reawaken other sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, real estate and hotels.
The state has become a symbol of the Rust Belt, where heavy industry was once the engine of local economies but which has been in a steep decline for decades.
The benefits aren’t just being felt in Ohio. Several recent economic indicators, such as hiring in the manufacturing industry, indicate a growing momentum.
This is “a real game-changer in terms of the U.S. economy,” manufacturing sector expert Katy George of McKinsey & Co. told The New York Times.
Source: oilpricecom
