Each month we get the statistics for the number of jobs that have been cut. We get a little insight about these jobs such as what sector of the job market, but are we getting all the information? After listening to a report on NPR about a La-Z-Boy plant that is closing and moving jobs to Mexico, I got to thinking about it. I think that when we get the statistics for the number of jobs cut, it should also include what happen to those jobs. How many lost jobs were just due to a company going out of business? How many of them were moved out of the country or to another state? Last month there were 80,000 jobs cut, I'd like to know where they went.

I would also like to hear what was the average pay of these lost jobs. This statistic should be coupled with the average pay of jobs created. I have a feeling we don't get this statistic because the numbers wouldn't be good. Most likely, the average pay of jobs lost is higher than that of jobs which have been created. It's bad enough to lose more jobs than we are creating, but if the new jobs are paying less than the old ones, then we are adding insult to injury.

What about the ripple effect of these lost jobs? In the above story it was reported that the plant was the largest employer in town. These lost jobs are going to affect other businesses in the area that will most likely be forced to cut jobs. We need to pay closer attention to what is happening in the American job market. We not only need to be adding more jobs than are lost, but we must be creating new jobs that have higher wages than the old ones. There have been more jobs added than lost in the long run, but maybe it is due to the lack of a higher average income from the new jobs that we find ourselves in the mess we see today.