Part 5/10:
The Employment Reality
Currently, while the United States boasts record low unemployment rates, this statistic obscures a grimmer reality: the quality of jobs has shifted drastically. Many former manufacturing jobs have been replaced by lower-paying service industry positions, as witness to the challenges faced by lower-income groups.
The bottom 90% of earners in the U.S. have seen their real income growth stall at less than 0.5% per year, in stark contrast to nearly 80% growth enjoyed by the top earners. This discrepancy is a crucial factor contributing to the calls for a reevaluation of trade policies, and forms a core part of the rationale behind protectionist measures advocated by figures such as Donald Trump.