Outsourcing and Insourcing Jobs in the U.S. Economy: Evidence Based on Foreign Investment Data
Source: James K. Jackson, Specialist in International Trade and Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, CRS report (.pdf), Updated May 13, 2008
Summary
The impact of foreign direct investment on U.S. employment is provoking a
national debate. While local communities compete with one another for investment
projects, many of the residents of those communities fear losing their jobs as U.S.
companies seek out foreign locations and foreign workers to perform work that
traditionally has been done in the United States, generally referred to as outsourcing.
Some observers suggest that current U.S. experiences with outsourcing are different
from those that have preceded them and that this merits legislative actions by
Congress to blunt the economic impact of these activities. Other observers argue that
investing abroad by U.S. multinational companies impedes the growth of new jobs
in the economy and thwarts the nation's investments in high technology sectors.
Some opponents also argue that mid-career workers who lose good-paying
manufacturing and service-sector jobs likely will never recover their standard of
living.