Table 1
U.S.–China goods trade and job displacement, 2001–2017
| Change ($billions) | Percent change | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2008 | 2017 | 2001–2017 | 2008–2017 | 2001–2017 | 2008–2017 | |
| U.S. goods trade with China ($billions, nominal) | |||||||
| U.S. total exports* | $19.2 | $71.5 | $130.4 | $111.1 | $58.9 | 577.8% | 82.4% |
| U.S. general imports | $102.3 | $337.8 | $505.6 | $403.3 | $167.8 | 394.3% | 49.7% |
| U.S. trade balance | ‑$83.0 | ‑$266.3 | -$375.2 | -$292.2 | -$108.9 | 351.8% | 40.9% |
| Average annual change in the trade balance | -$18.26 | -$15.56 | 9.9% | ||||
| Change (thousands of jobs) | Percent change | ||||||
| U.S. trade-related jobs supported and displaced (thousands of jobs) | |||||||
| U.S. total exports—jobs supported | 179.2 | 564.2 | 959.1 | 780.0 | 395.0 | 435.3% | 70.0% |
| U.S. general imports—jobs displaced | 1,170.7 | 3,616.9 | 5,311.3 | 4,140.6 | 1,694.4 | 353.7% | 46.8% |
| U.S. trade deficit—net jobs displaced | 991.5 | 3,052.7 | 4,352.2 | 3,360.6 | 1,299.4 | 338.9% | 42.6% |
| Average annual change in net jobs displaced | 210.0 | 185.6 | 9.7% | ||||
* Total exports as reported by the U.S. International Trade Commission include re-exports. The employment estimates shown here are based on total exports. See note 2 for additional details.
Source: Authors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2013, U.S. International Trade Commission 2018, and Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program 2017a and 2017b. For a more detailed explanation of data sources and computations, see the appendix.
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