Much of 'Trump country' was in recession during 2016 campaign - data

FILE PHOTO: A supporter holds a sign as Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, January 15, 2016. REUTERS/Scott Morgan/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly half the U.S. counties carried by President Donald Trump in the 2016 election were arguably in recession at the time, with local economic output shrinking during a campaign that focussed on the declining fortunes of blue-collar America.

New data released by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show how a national slump in economic growth in 2016 fell most heavily on "Trump country," forming a weak economic backdrop to a bitter election campaign shaped by the Republican presidential nominee's attacks on globalisation and his pledge to revive U.S. industry.