Hickory, NC in the national news again

http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-china-shock-deep-and-swift-spurred-the-rise-of-trump-1470929543

How the China Shock, Deep and Swift, Spurred the Rise of Trump

Many assumed the U.S. would withstand the import threat as it had with Japan, Mexico; devastation in Hickory, N.C.

By Bob Davis and Jon Hilsenrath
 

HICKORY, N.C.—In the late 1990s, this furniture-making hub seemed sheltered from the disruptive forces of globalization. Laid-off steelworkers from West Virginia, Tennessee and beyond streamed here for new jobs building beds, tables and chairs for American homes. The unemployment rate fell below 2%.

These days, Hickory is still suffering from a series of economic shocks, none more powerful than China’s rise as an export power. The invasion of imported furniture drove factories out of business, erased thousands of jobs and helped drive unemployment above 15% in 2010.