Final answer:
The cumulative number of jobs outsourced by U.S.-based companies has led to a decrease in manufacturing jobs and an increase in service jobs. Despite fears of job loss, the U.S. job market has grown over time. However, outsourcing and offshoring require a shift in domestic job training and opportunities.
Step-by-step explanation:
When discussing the cumulative number of jobs outsourced by U.S.-based companies, it's important to understand the trends and the economic impacts of such a practice. Outsourcing, which involves contracting with another company to perform tasks typically handled within the company, and offshoring, moving operations to another country, have both contributed to shifts in demand for labor.
Over the decades, service jobs have increased as manufacturing jobs have declined. However, despite the popular belief that outsourcing significantly reduces the number of available jobs domestically, the total number of U.S. jobs has grown from 71 million in 1970 to 145 million in 2014, as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It suggests that while specific sectors like manufacturing may have been impacted by outsourcing and offshoring, the overall job market still expanded, potentially due to the rise in service jobs and other industries.
Still, the economic effects of job outsourcing can include increased unemployment in sectors that have been outsourced, which may result in the need for workers to acquire new skills for available jobs. The United States and other developed countries face the challenge of developing new job opportunities and training programs to counteract the jobs being moved abroad.