For American Factory Towns, Loss of Good-Paying Jobs Hurts the Most

 

It is easy for people in Erie, Pennsylvania to blame their city’s economic problems on the loss of manufacturing jobs to China and Mexico.

Many Americans, including President Donald Trump¹, believe that factory closures are the main issue facing aging manufacturing towns in the United States.

Since 2008, Erie has suffered a less-known and possibly more serious loss of well-paying, white-collar jobs. Half of the business leadership positions in Erie — 220 jobs — have disappeared. The city has lost 10 percent of its computer workers, 40 percent of its engineers and 20 percent of its lawyers. The Associated Press says that information comes from a study of government records.

All these jobs helped to support Erie’s manufacturing industry. And they are the kind of work that has increasingly become the base of the American economy.

The AP examined U.S. Department of Labor² records dating to 2008. It found that a third of major cities — nearly 80 communities — are losing a greater percentage of white-collar jobs than blue-collar jobs.

In Ohio, cities such as Toledo and Canton have had a harder time keeping jobs in offices than on factory floors. The situation is similar in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Wichita and Topeka, Kansas; in Birmingham, Alabama and Decatur, Illinois.

“That’s one of the most painful aspects of the economic decline of these manufacturing centers: They get hit twice,” said Enrico Moretti, an economist³ at the University of California, Berkeley. “First, they lose the factories. But second, and most importantly, they lose everyone who was supportive of those factories.”

Economists⁴ worry most about this second-level loss. They believe that cities need white-collar jobs to meet a new economy based on specialized⁵ knowledge and technological⁶ skill.

Higher-Paying Jobs Leaving Smaller U.S. Cities

During the 2016 election campaign, candidate Trump promised voters that he would bring factory jobs back to areas that had lost them. But the AP study shows how higher-paying jobs are leaving smaller cities, and a generation of workers are following. Such workers could create businesses or serve existing companies if they stayed.

The AP studied employment records by occupation from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It then compared employment numbers for metropolitan⁷ areas with national averages. Jobs that were defined as white collar include supervisory, administrative⁸ and sales positions. Blue-collar occupations include production, machine operation and transportation positions.

White-collar workers are increasingly moving away from smaller cities and settling in fast-growing areas like Seattle, Nashville, Chicago and Silicon⁹ Valley. As those higher-paying occupations become centered in fewer places, the wealth they create is less likely to be passed along to cities with a history of manufacturing.

Making Erie More Appealing

In Erie, many business leaders say the city mainly needs to keep and create more white-collar jobs.

Its largest for-profit employer, Erie Insurance, recently repaired an old building where the U.S. National Guard kept arms and military equipment. The company has also been rebuilding old homes nearby, slowly turning part of the city into a business center.

In addition, Erie Insurance is leading a private $40 million effort to fill downtown Erie with stores and housing. It is hoping that the changes will appeal to other employers and college graduates.

For the company’s chief executive, the project is personal. Tim NeCastro has five adult children; only one has chosen to stay local.

“If this is successful, 10 years from now, two more of my kids will move to Erie,” he said. “They will find a reason to get back here.”

It is the same issue many small- and middle-size cities face. Children who left for college are mostly not returning home. Many young people are choosing to live in communities close to a major university, like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 200 kilometers south of Erie.

In larger cities, it is easier for white-collar workers to make job changes that offer more money or possibilities for career development. This makes big cities appealing to younger professionals.

For example, Census¹⁰ Bureau records show that Chicago, Illinois, added nearly 40,000 college graduates under age 35 since the Great Recession began in late 2007. Boston, Massachusetts gained about 10,000. Denver, Colorado added 25,000.

However, in the same period, Toledo, Ohio lost 1,600 young college graduates.

In a 2016 campaign speech in Erie, Trump blamed unfair trade for the struggles facing communities across the country. He spoke¹¹ about the North American Free Trade Agreement and the entrance of China into the World Trade Organization.

"We will stop these countries from taking our companies," Trump said.

The argument helped Trump, the Republican Party nominee¹², win Erie County. It had voted for Democrat¹³ Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. In the 13 months since Trump entered office, Erie has lost about 800 jobs. The number of people seeking jobs dropped by more than 2,000.

Trump has announced taxes on steel and aluminum¹⁴ imports in hopes of strengthening U.S. industry.

I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver¹⁵.

Words in This Story

white-collar – adj. of or related to office workers

blue-collar – adj. of or related to people who work in a factory

aspect – n. the way something appears; a part of something

decline – n. a process of becoming worse or weaken in condition

graduate – n. someone who completed a study program at a school, college or university

metropolitan – adj. of or relating to a large city as well as nearby cities and towns

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

8 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

9 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

10 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

14 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。