General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: United States has lost 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000 [View all]Elwood P Dowd
(11,443 posts)When the factories close and move offshore, it's not just manufacturing jobs that are lost. The service and support jobs for them moves offshore also. With the factories gone, the local areas have fewer workers buying goods and services or paying taxes. Retail shops close, doctors move out of town, services businesses close, and the local governments have less revenue forcing them to layoff workers. The loss of 1,000 factory workers often can eventually lead to the loss of 1,000 other jobs. It's a race to the bottom, and it's not strictly just manufacturing. With a larger supply of people searching for jobs, there is less demand for good wages. People once working for $15-20 an hour in manufacturing are now forced to accept $10.00 an hour service or retail jobs without any benefits. And on and on and on it goes until we reach the point we're at now.