President Trump won the White House by promising to bring back manufacturing jobs that companies sent overseas to take advantage of cheap labor. But actual Trump supporters say the issue is that manufacturing jobs in the U.S. today for blue-collar workers are dangerous or low-paying.
The unemployment rate in Elkhart sits at just 1.9%, but the manufacturing jobs there that pay well are so physically demanding that many workers cannot stay for long before medical issues force them to accept lower-paying jobs elsewhere.
Why it matters: Offshoring and immigration aren't to blame for the lack of high-paying but low-skilled jobs in manufacturing as much as automation technology, which has left for humans tasks that are either low-value, high-skilled, or dangerous.
