10. Canton-Massillon, OH
> Change in employment 2001-2011: -10.1%
> Population: 404,422
> Unemployment: 9.3%
> Poverty level: 12.3%
> Median income: $44,799

Like many of the cities on this list, Canton was once a powerful industrial city but has since come on hard times. Major employers, such as LTV Steel and The Hoover Company, have either closed down or moved away from the city. Between 2000 and 2010, the city lost just under 10% of its population. The city’s economy is now becoming more service-based, although it will be hard to replace the number of jobs which were once provided by the steel and iron industry.

9. Dayton, OH
> Change in employment 2001-2011: -10.3%
> Population: 841,502
> Unemployment: 9%
> Poverty level: 13.3%
> Median income: $47,145

At the turn of the century, Dayton generated more patents per capita than any other U.S. city. Dayton was a major manufacturing center and was also home to a number of GM plants. Currently, things are not going as well. According to George Zeller, a Cleveland-based economic research analyst, in the Dayton Daily News, “Dayton is in the worst recession that it has ever seen since the Great Depression.” As manufacturing continues to decline in the area, health and education services seem to be the only hope for employment.

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8. South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI
> Change in employment 2001-2011: -10.9%
> Population: 319,224
> Unemployment: 9.1%
> Poverty level: 13.7%
> Median income: $44,579

South Bend-Mishawaka was once a major industrial hub, known primarily for manufacturing automotive parts. Most employment in the area is now in education, health care, and small businesses. Unfortunately, these are among the sectors which have shed the most jobs in recent years. According to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the private educational and health services sector lost 1,500 jobs between 2009 and 2010 — the most out of any industry. The sector to lose the second largest number of jobs was government, which includes public schools and hospitals.

7. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA
> Change in employment 2001-2011: -11%
> Population: 565,773
> Unemployment: 9.1%
> Poverty level: 15.5%
> Median income: $40,734

Youngstown, OH, is a former steel city and is the center of an area called “Steel Valley”, the largest part of which was Pittsburgh. The disappearance of the steel mills has left the city’s economy dependent on health care and education, notably Youngstown State University — the city’s largest employer. According to one local paper, the city has more than 4,500 vacant structures and a shrinking population.

6. Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
> Change in employment 2001-2011: -11.5%
> Population: 274,549
> Unemployment: 12.5%
> Poverty level: 10.6%
> Median income: $54,934

Atlantic City’s tourism-driven economy has been hurt in two ways. First, the recession has caused revenues to nosedive at the city’s casinos, as people have less money to gamble with. Second, there is growing competition from neighboring states such as Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, and Maryland, which have legalized gaming in recent years.  As a result, it is unlikely Atlantic City will see the traffic that it once did when the economy returns to pre-recession levels.