25 years ago: 2.3 million US factory jobs lost 1980-1985

[Hannah Bell]

A US Labor Department report published this week in 1985 revealed that over 8 million jobs had been lost since 1980. Hardest hit was factory employment, where 2.2 million jobs had been shed. The steel industry by itself had purged nearly 400,000 jobs, resulting in the devastation of cities like Gary, Indiana and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Six major industrial states had each lost more than 500,000 jobs, among them Illinois (1.3 million), Pennsylvania and Ohio (1.1 million each), Michigan (962,000), New York (676,000), and Indiana (517,000). “Probably 90 percent of these jobs will never come back,” commented one analyst. “They’re gone for good.”

The job losses were only partially offset by a boom in low-paid service sector employment.

The same week as the jobs figures were released saw major shocks in the financial sector. Argentina teetered on the brink of a sovereign debt default, a leading Hong Kong bank collapsed, and a $1.5 billion Los Angeles savings and loan bank went bankrupt.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/jun2010/twih-j07.shtml#75

[G_j]

1. Ronald Reagan: 1981-1989 nt

[avaistheone1]

2. The sad part is that none of these jobs ever come back to the U.S.

We can't keep offshoring our good jobs and expect to have a healthy economy at home.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. This was not entirely due to offshoring, of course, but...

also because of a lot of changes in industry and products.

Big Steel, for instance, no longer needs so many huge mills, with shipyards attached for any excess production they may have.

Many metal and wood shops have closed simply because plastic has replaced metal for so many things. And many more shops have reduced the number of employees simply because of automation and more efficient manufacturing techniques.

Lace making, anyone? A major industry in Paterson, NJ until they built machines to do it.

Besides, an awful lot of those vaunted factory jobs really sucked-- boring, repetitive work in lousy conditions, and I can't imagine too many people complaining about their loss actually applying for many of them. Car wiring harnesses pretty much have to be made by hand, and they've been made in Mexico for years because they find more people down there willing to braid a harness withoug too many mistakes.

And condoms have almost all been Mexican for as long as I can remember-- ever seen what a condom tester does? Anyone here really want that job?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. God Damn Fucking NAFTA... oh... wait... 1985 you say?

Yes-Sir-Eee, every single job lost in American history was lost to free trade.

[Enthusiast]

5. Mine was one of those jobs.

Eventually I returned to that job but the plant was scheduled to close while Saint Ronnie was still in office. Voodoo economics. We've been operating this country on voodoo economics ever since Saint Ronnie. Look where it has gotten us.

[My Good Babushka]

6. My father was a steel mill worker

and he never recovered from that job loss. He started abusing alcohol and really went out of his head. He was violent. Fun to live with. Thanks, Reagan.

[NNN0LHI]

7. Laid off just short of two years during that time

We were damn lucky that we had a union negotiated contract so we were either eventually called back or be transferred to other plants as jobs opened up.

I transferred to the Ford Indianapolis Transmission and Steering Gear Plant for a few years. Then transferred back to my home plant when I could. Good thing too. The Indianapolis plant is now closed.

Don

[Mari333]

8. I remember it all very well.

Reagan busted up the airline unions, then went onstage and announced huge tax breaks for corporations, promising that 'corporations would rebuild america!!' with their profits...

and the huge corporations who owned Reagan took the jobs overseas to find cheap labour.

and that was exactly what the intent was..short term profits by using slave labour.

[Bitwit1234]

9. Where was the MSM outrage there

blaming Obama and the Democrats for this lost of jobs in the Gulf, but never saying a word of di spare about the republicans who helped loose all those jobs to overseas countries because big business wanted to clean up.

[marmar]

10. Ahhh, the Reagan 80s.......

As a Gen-Xer, I pine for the music of my childhood, the culture and so on, but the damage done to the American middle class, working class and poor during that decade was extraordinary.