Where Did All the Jobs Go?

According to Wikipedia the US goods trade deficit with NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was $94.6 billion in 2010, a 36.4% increase ($25 billion) over 2009.  That alone could explain where a lot of the jobs have gone recently. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement


Free trade agreements were supposed to help american businesses grow and boost the economy.  However it seems that because businesses are able to get cheaper labor outside the US, it is far more cost productive to manufacture goods outside the US and import them without any tarrifs in effect.

On October 12, 2011 the US entered a free trade agreement with Korea is expected to boost the US GDP by $12 Billion.  http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/korus-fta

However we see a different impact on the US economy from the free trade agreements we have signed in the past.  The agreements seem to end up costing more jobs and serve to increase the number of imports.

The High Price of Free Trade: North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) cost 879,280 jobs between 1993 and 2002.
http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp147/

As of 2010, US Trade deficits with Mexico alone cost a total of 682,900 jobs since NAFTA's inception in January 1994.
http://www.epi.org/publication/heading_south_u-s-mexico_trade_and_job_displacement_after_nafta1/

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