Even though many companies are reporting an increase in their workforce, the majority of jobs have been created in developing countries such as China and India. There has been an increase in these areas not simply because there is an abundance of cheap labor, but rather as the middle class in these regions grow there is more incentives for companies to build their factories in areas where they can quickly sell their goods. Consumer demand in the United States has pretty much flattened out whereas demand in these Asian countries are increasing as more and more people possess a greater income. According to the article "By 2015, for the first time, the number of consumers in Asia's middle class will equal those in Europe and North America combined." Thus it seems natural that companies would want to shift supply lines closer to where to their costumers are in order to make the most profit.
However, this trend of opening more jobs overseas versus at home has kept the jobless rate high and has lead to more Americans struggling to get by. The United States also faces the fact that its ranking in higher education has been decreasing while others have been rising. The recent recession has worsened this as less money was put into the education of the youth and colleges and universities faced cuts as less money was available in state's budgets. While it would be unlikely that the United States would be able to experience the same growth in demand as Asia, we should have the obligation to increase the quality of our higher education system so that the United States would have more incentives for companies to create jobs here.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
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2 comments:
I am not at all surprised by the increase in jobs overseas. Because we are currently stuck in a recession, it's easy for us to think that everyone else is suffering too, but that is not the case at all. Countries everywhere are growing and expanding, just like the U.S. did during its prime. With so many other countries bustling with business, I think it'll be hard to convince companies to turn the focus back to the United States.
Like Tiffany said, it's no surprise that the demand for jobs is high overseas. While it may be difficult to find a job here, doctors, teachers, and more are needed in growing countries like China. Especially with the recent recession as mentioned in the article, many are finding stable jobs overseas; in addition, the cost of living overseas can be and is often cheaper than the cost of living in the U.S. It's wise of companies to create jobs and branches overseas because other countries are growing in many aspects while the United States is slowly falling behind. Moreover, by making jobs overseas, this can bring greater appeal to career-oriented people who may be more flexible to move to another country and live there.
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