Abstract: Researchers study the well-being of families displaced by a plant closure in the United States. The face of industrialization is changing in the United States. High-wage blue collar employment for unskilled workers is declining and jobs in lower paid service and retail industries are increasing. The manufacturing industry, once considered the most stable employer in the United States for non-college-educated workers, experienced a large decline in the 1980s and 1990s, losing over 2 million manufacturing and mining jobs between 1979 and 1995. At the same time, low-wage jobs in the retail and service industries have increased. Between 1989 and 1995, this sector accounted for more than 83 percent of all new jobs.(1) The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that, between 1994 and 2005, the service and retail trades will account for almost 97 percent of all new jobs: 16.2 million out of a total projected growth of 16.8 million jobs.(2) The Search for Cheap Labor Some economists have argued that this type of industry shift is a natural evolution from an agricultural to a manufacturing and finally to a service economy. Others, however, maintain that if these were natural shifts, they would not exert the downward pressure on wages that we have seen.(3) Instead, increased global competition puts less-skilled U.S. workers into competition with foreign workers who are often paid even less than their U.S. counterparts. Technological changes have also increased the demand for more-skilled workers in the United States. At the same time, union membership has also declined. This has depressed the wages of the least-skilled workers. Moreover, trade deficits have led to a of manufacturing jobs as low-priced foreign goods flood the U.S. market.(4) Given the current economic trends toward declining wages for unskilled workers, it is highly probable that displaced workers will have a hard time finding employment that allows them to enjoy the same standard of living in the future. They may also spend longer periods of time under severe economic pressure. Unlike more-educated professionals, who can expect to maintain their previous living standard after job loss, dislocated blue collar workers often face reduced earnings.(5) Unemployment affects workers above and beyond their income losses, however. Job insecurity, of economic status, and discouragement also play a part in the distress felt by workers.(6) The unemployed are more than twice as likely to have one or more symptoms of depression compared to the employed, even while receiving unemployment compensation.(7) When replacement jobs equivalent to the jobs lost are available, the transition may be smoother for workers seeking new jobs. The effects of reemployment on workers in a market where few equivalent jobs exist, however, is less well understood. Given the decline in the manufacturing industry as a whole, and the increase in service sector employment, people may increasingly take jobs with lower pay and fewer benefits. Low pay and poor work conditions may eventually lead to a of well-being.s As researchers reported in the American Sociological Review: If a consistent pattern of de-skilling continues over the remainder of this century, as some have suggested, then a new kind of job loss will become increasingly common, with workers being retrained to take on jobs that are less rewarding than their previous jobs.(9) Laid Off In November 1997, a national garment manufacturer announced it would close its largest manufacturing plant in the Southeast, laying off over 2,000 workers.(10) Unlike many companies, this manufacturer gave a very nice severance package to its employees and hired a national education firm to coordinate retraining activities. The union, the company, and the contracting firm all worked closely together to iron out details of the severance package and retraining. …
Publication Year: 1999
Publication Date: 1999-03-22
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 2
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