A Decade of Lost Jobs

The Washington Post shows the United States has not had any job growth for a decade. In Aughts were a lost decade for U.S. economy, workers:

unenmployment decade

There has been zero net job creation since December 1999. No previous decade going back to the 1940s had job growth of less than 20 percent. Economic output rose at its slowest rate of any decade since the 1930s as well.

Not only was there no job growth, middle incomes shrank and retirement funds shrank.

The article goes onto blame the housing bubble. But while articles will note the increase in productivity, they refuse, absolutely refuse to look at offshore outsourcing, trade policy and bringing in workers from foreign nations to labor arbitrage U.S. labor.

These topics never even get a mention, when clearly and obviously something has gone very awry in the U.S. labor market.

So next time you hear there is a labor shortage, or claims there are some jobs American's can't do, think of the above.

Meanwhile Slate Magazine has created an interactive map showing county by county job losses from 2007 until now.

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