Middle class jobs lost to asia!

Your Well-Paid, Middle-Class Job Is in Danger

by Ruth Mantell
Thursday, June 16, 2011

Some highly-paid workers may find they need to switch careers.

The job market is changing, and it's not just manufacturing jobs that are disappearing. Even some highly-paid workers may find themselves needing to re-tool their skills in the years ahead.

The ongoing movement of jobs to countries where labor is cheaper, plus the development of new technologies, may mean fewer opportunities for some well-paid positions in the U.S. over the next decade, said Larry Katz, an economist at Harvard University.

Workers making about $40,000 to $80,000 a year constitute the bulk of labor costs for many companies, and these workers may be on the chopping block, said Jeffrey Joerres, chief executive of ManpowerGroup, a Milwaukee-based staffing services firm.

"That's your middle class," Joerres said. "Companies are finding ways to reduce the number of people in those areas, and change the jobs to make them more simple, to reduce the skill that is required."

However, not all is doom and gloom. Among the 20 fastest growing occupations from the U.S. Labor Department's employment projections for 2008 to 2018, 11 earn at least $10,000 more than the national annual median wage of $32,390 in May of 2008.

BTW it seems that yahoo article has some issues of its own. Granted its 3 days old, but many other older articles appear without problems. I am getting server errors, can't post comments anymore, can't finger up or down, etc.

So the annual average pay is around $33,000 and most of those jobs HAVE BEEN SHIPPED TO ASIA for cheaper labor. You will say, well its nothing new really, just like the barely adjusted for inflation minimum wages OF THE 50'S of 7.25, yet when compared to increased productivity it should be close to $20 per hour.

The border is wide-open with mexico and illegals continue to flood the american job market, they contribute NOTHING to social security, unemployment, disability, state and federal taxes, etc, BUT they do take whatever pittiful jobs unskilled high school graduates would otherwise take.

You need, on average around $8,000 per year for health insurance(assuming your not predisposed with serious illness and don't smoke/drink, etc), $2,000 for car insurance, probably $10,000 for rent and what is left if anything?

The american government IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE! I am pro-union and a market socialist for obvious reasons. Democrats raised the minimum wage $1-$2 and the republicans made a big fuss about it. I guess if it was up to them there would be no minimum wage at all or maybe $1

I keep hearing people blame "the liberals" as though they are truely liberal. You GOT to be kidding me!!!! If the democrats are liberals then I am an ultra-left stalinist. Globalism is an international capitalist conspiracy, one that gives everything to the corporate elite while providing employees with slave labor wages. Not to mention the total neglect for the enviroment, lack of healthcare coverage, lack of benefits, 40 hour work-weeks with many companies(such as walmart) REFUSING to pay overtime to the employees who sell chineese garbage merchandise.

Yes I get extremely irrate when I come across articles like this, not because I was not aware of the unbelievable "incompetance" of governments, but because I keep hearing people say "keep government out of business" or "I want small government" nonsense. When government is 1000% pro-capital that means in reality the citizens of such "nation" are unrepresented.

This American Dream of rugged individualism has almost had it's day. That dream of the father going out and doing " the work" and supporting the wifey and four kiddies is pretty much finished.

Decades ago the mother had to join the father in making money to get by. Now grand parents must baby sit and aunts and uncles share the spare bed room or garage or what have you. Children are at home longer or come back sooner because they just can't make it alone.

Not only have those jobs gone over seas, they have been lost to automation.

I say put a stake in the heart of this "rugged individualism" and let's learn some collectivism for a while. I mean what the heck, most of us are living right in top of each other anyway.

reply to post by TerryMcGuire


We "simply" have to make our voices heard one way or another. Easier said then done, but a government hell-bent on depravity is not an option. The problem is most americans have been voting for non-issues such as gay rights, abortion and religion WHILE IGNORING financial globalism.

Capitalism has its flaws but not as many as communism. When we give government a blank cheque for decades its only natural we will wake up one day with a zero balance. Ben Franklin said it best "those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither and will lose both". That was 200 years ago and is still as relevant as it was then.

Bad news to the US means good news to Asia. The architects of WTO might have overlooked the possibility that everything will flow into Asia and only the finished products will return to the US.

reply to post by EarthCitizen07


I don't know if it applies here, but in the job outlook handbook (occupational handbook that the government releases), it explicitly tells you the outlook for every career. It even tells you why a decrease or increase is expected. I know this doesn't mean much to people who have been in careers for decades, but for people starting new careers, they can at least use this as a guide to protect their future job positions.

Business has always been about profits. And consumers demand lower prices. They don't care whether it means their neighbors lose jobs or not. They will still buy the cheaper products because they are probably on a tight budget like most everyone else.

I'm sad to hear people losing their jobs to overseas people, but really, I think it is going to happen more and more as poorer countries develop. Consider like India where there are very high numbers of technology-oriented people getting higher level education (computer jobs). They also do cheaper customer service if their accents are tolerable.

Originally posted by wavemaker
Bad news to the US means good news to Asia. The architects of WTO might have overlooked the possibility that everything will flow into Asia and only the finished products will return to the US.

And who runs the WTO? Maybe they have ties to the IMF and World Bank?

Who runs the IMF and World Bank? Maybe they have ties to the big commercial banks worldwide?

Capitalism means to invest your capital in order to derive profits from it. I call it exploitation, and exploitation left unchecked leads to a capitalist dictatorship. Left unchecked worldwide, due to any number of factors, it will bring us the "New World" Disorder. Actually its the same old world disorder but they never really mention that do they?

21st century imperialism has evolved from militarism to financial despotism. I see no attempt by big chineese companies to market their products in europe or north america. I ONLY SEE american brand merchandise made in china, bangladesh, india, malaysia, korea and taiwan. Each nation specialises in something; bangladesh in clothes, taiwan in computer hardware, korea in cars, malaysia in game consoles, china in everything.

Again why no chineese, malaysian, taiwanese, indian, bangladesh BRAND products? How come you don't see carrefoure supermarkets in north america? "Haha" because american imperialism is still the most dominant form of imperialism on the planet. American companies make the price, and the "good/reliable" chineese people with their worthless goverment bend over and say "YES SIR....I MAKE YOU HAPPY"

If chineese "knock-off" merchandise was not bad mouthed constantly, I am sure china would grow its economy in a much fairer and sustainable way. The same could be said for any developing nation's corporate structure and I am a market socialist who dislikes corporatism...especially state capitalism! So that means primarily american and european corporatism is accepted by the "wto". Double, Triple whammy!

reply to post by daynight42


All the american government had to do was put high tariffs on american brand products made overseas or preferrably BAN coporations from going overseas. Actually it should have been a UN Mandate-Ban international corporatism!

That means you can sell your merhandise/products overseas but not manufacture and/or service anything overseas. Exports and imports are perfectly fine and those should have small tariffs as well to protect the local economy(ies). Protectionism somehow evolved to become a dirty word, but in reality lack of protectionism, aka free trade is the real problem.

It makes no sense to spend less on foreign made merchandise if you make less to begin with, because we are all workers as well as consumers. How can the government and corporations forget that?? People don't rob banks to buy shoes from walmart, now do they?

I live in the UK and it's the same situation. Cheap mass produced goods from China flood the Market. If every single western citizen would simply go without or only buy locally... It could have a major impact. Think about it, goods from these poorly paid labour markets could not have flooded the Market without someones permission. A sick plan, an evil plan, but the culture of "I must have that" has worked well to transform our society into one we don't recognise. I have made the commitment to look at every label, and unless it's an absolute necessity and there is no alternative, I go without or find one made in the US, UK or EU.
It's one way to fight, and it's within your power to do starting today.
I often think that if every single American did this, starting today, it would send a clear and powerful message.
Of course, this is only one step, but as the OP's article clearly shows, the alternative is not worth contemplating.

reply to post by EarthCitizen07


Certainly labor arbitrage is a factor in the reduction of jobs and will continue to be. On that front, there are some good trends, some bad. For example on the good news side, many of the service level jobs that were being performed in India are moving back to the US for a bunch of reasons, a large one being that when you do a serious analysis, off-shoring those can actually be more expensive. On that front, the bad news is that other countries are taking advantage with growing dissatisfaction with India service and picking up the pace.

Globalization with respect to manufacturing is clearly a problem and in that tarriff are a partial solution. Getting tough with countries that unfairly manipulate their currency is another tool that should be more regularily used.

A large area where the government has totally failed is in its treatment of small business and entrepeneurs. The legal, entitlement, regulatory burdens placed on small business is killing innovation in this country. 30 years ago a few gents in a garage could come up with an idea and actually build a business out of it. Today the come up with an idea, raise some VC cash and get the product or service to a level of maturity so that they can sell it to a multinational. Why? Because it is not worth the pain and suffering to deal with the government mandates and costs. The taxes are also confiscatory at the corporate level. The largest issues VC firms and investment bankers have with small companys is that the owners won't get out of the way. They don't want to sell the company, yet financially and legally they are irresponsible not to.

The government needs to get a whole lot smarter in how it deals with small companys, especially those that are based on intellectual property where the principals can move over seas and take the entire thing with them to a country that does not treat business as the enemy. The US should be a place that attracts folks to start and open small businesses. We have the best university system in the world, the people who attend are from all over the world and thus have experience in global markets, yet the government does absolutely nothing to take advantage of that natural advantage.

$8000 for healthcare. Are you the sickest person ever? I have excellent coverage and pay less than $2000. Sounds to me like you need to do some shopping. Besides your healthcare sensationalism, the problem with the outsource of american jobs is there fault. The problem is that americans are so stupid they don't understand that everytime they buy something not from the US or one of our allies, they are supporting someone elses economy. Everyone should shop in their local communities and support their local small businesses. Stay away from every big box store ie. Academy, Kohls, Walmart, Target, Lowes, the Home Depot, etc. etc. Don't shop at the mall to buy clothes. Do your homework. If the country of your choice does not produce what you are wanting, go without. It's not our gov'ts fault on this one. It's the evil corporations and their greed trying to make more money by exploiting cheaper labor and the greed of the american citizen and their consumerism addiction. I want it now, now now attitude. Support american manufacturers, their are still some left and they are more appreciative of your business than you could ever imagine. Be patriotic and punish those companies that have sent our jobs oversees. By the way, I know alot about american manufacturing. I am an american manufacturer.

Originally posted by BigJoninTexas
$8000 for healthcare. Are you the sickest person ever? I have excellent coverage and pay less than $2000. Sounds to me like you need to do some shopping. Besides your healthcare sensationalism,

National Average

The national average for health care costs per person is increasing drastically each year. In 2007, the average cost per person for health insurance coverage was $7,421, which was an increase of 6 percent compared to the previous year. In 2008, the average cost for health care per person surpassed $8,000. The yearly increases for health care are outstripping inflation

www.ehow.com...

Perhaps you were reffering to subsidised insurance where the employer pays half or most of it and you contribute your share. Either way the cost is approximately $8,000 per year and there are many sources that you can use to verify this.

the problem with the outsource of american jobs is there fault. The problem is that americans are so stupid they don't understand that everytime they buy something not from the US or one of our allies, they are supporting someone elses economy. Everyone should shop in their local communities and support their local small businesses. Stay away from every big box store ie. Academy, Kohls, Walmart, Target, Lowes, the Home Depot, etc. etc. Don't shop at the mall to buy clothes. Do your homework. If the country of your choice does not produce what you are wanting, go without. It's not our gov'ts fault on this one. It's the evil corporations and their greed trying to make more money by exploiting cheaper labor and the greed of the american citizen and their consumerism addiction. I want it now, now now attitude. Support american manufacturers, their are still some left and they are more appreciative of your business than you could ever imagine. Be patriotic and punish those companies that have sent our jobs oversees. By the way, I know alot about american manufacturing. I am an american manufacturer.

You are speaking from an ignorant position and I am not trying to be rude or anything. People who make less will spend less because the entire system is based on global capitalism. People who are on minimum wage or even median wages will not have enough money to buy american made products all the time. They buy from walmart cause THEY HAVE TO, not because they want to. The middle and low class constitutes about 70% of american households so if 70% shop at big business usa and buy american products *made in china* the other 30% is not enough to carry small&medium business over.

When walmart and home depot open...that means EVERYONE ELSE CLOSES! Its no accident and people are not stupid either. In fact they are much smarter than what politicians give them credit for. We have state capitalism in america and many other countries, where big business and government are virtually the same thing.