Economy, Census | featured news

A record number of U.S. counties - more than 1 in 3 - are now dying off, hit by an aging population and weakened local economies that are spurring young adults to seek jobs and build families elsewhere.

Census figures show that fewer people are leaving and many are returning as a lack of jobs in the U.S. and tighter border enforcement dissuade many who might have entered illegally.

The Census Bureau report also found that median household incomes declined by 2.3 percent in 2010, in a sign of the toll the economic slump has taken.

Employment fell for a second straight month in July as more temporary census jobs ended while private hiring rose less than expected, pointing to an anemic economic recovery.

Many of the states in the South and West that boasted country's highest growth rates are now seeing dramatic slowdown in population numbers.