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Growing U.S. Trade Deficit with China Cost 2.8 Million Jobs Between 2001 and 2010, Including More Than 100,000 in PA

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Publication Date: 
September 20, 2011

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The U.S.-China trade deficit has eliminated or displaced nearly 2.8 million U.S. jobs since 2001, including 106,970 in Pennsylvania, according to a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) briefing paper. Growing U.S. trade deficit with China cost 2.8 million jobs between 2001 and 2010 by Robert Scott, EPI’s Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research, finds that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico suffered jobs lost or displaced as a result of the growing U.S.-China trade deficit.
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Below is a table showing the net job loss by Pennsylvania Congressional District due to trade deficits with China.

Net job loss due to trade deficits with China, 2001-10, by Pennsylvania Congressional District
Congressional District Net jobs displaced Employment** Share of total employment
15 8,051 341,800 2.36%
19 7,693 358,600 2.15%
8 6,945 339,800 2.04%
17 6,912 325,300 2.12%
6 6,782 356,800 1.90%
16 6,453 334,000 1.93%
13 5,829 311,500 1.87%
4 5,795 309,200 1.87%
11 5,683 308,200 1.84%
18 5,645 319,300 1.77%
3 5,445 293,100 1.86%
10 5,434 296,700 1.83%
5 5,381 287,500 1.87%
9 4,926 301,000 1.64%
7 4,857 332,400 1.46%
12 4,591 269,300 1.70%
14 3,837 265,700 1.44%
1 3,642 236,500 1.54%
2 2,966 237,200 1.25%
Statewide 106,970 5,825,300 1.84%
* State and national totals vary slightly due to rounding errors.
**Average employment by Congressional District in 2005-07. Analysis based on pooled, 3-year times series data from the Census American Community Survey, as described in Scott (2010b, Appendix).

Source: EPI analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2009), U.S. International Trade Commission (2011), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010a and 2010b). For a more detailed explanation of the data sources and computations, see the Appendix.

Jobs displaced due to trade with China as a share of state employment, 2010