Blame the robots, not free trade, for loss of manufacturing jobs

I haven't heard any candidate for president speak about slow job growth in manufacturing for unskilled workers.

Productivity has increased in manufacturing due to automation, i.e. robots. The decade between 2000 and 2010, unskilled labor was reduced by 33% percent. In that same period, productivity increased 200 percent.

The flip side is that employment has increased dramatically for skilled workers.

Foreign trade has little to do with the decrease in unskilled labor employment rates in manufacturing in the U.S. This point was reported in 2010 by James Sherk in an Oct. 22 report for the Heritage Foundation.

So, my fellow Americans, please fact check any candidate for office, regardless of party affiliation, for you will know the truth and it shall set you free.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Blame the robots, not free trade, for loss of manufacturing jobs."