And wages will reflect that supply of workers interacting with the demand for workers. That may be true for that particular job, but as the foreigners spend their proceeds from exporting to us, we will end up exporting more to them. The jobs lost in the industries that compete with imports will be offset by new jobs in our export industries. Imports and exports rise and fall together, so their net impact on jobs is close to zero. Again, the total number of jobs will be determined by the number of people willing and able to work.
Trade determines the mix of jobs.
At the national level, the change in the mix will be a change for the better since the jobs lost will be in areas of our comparative disadvantage and the jobs gained will be in the areas of our comparative advantage. With the greater specialization that results, total output and total income will rise. The displaced factory worker may not take well to computer programming. But again, since workers in the aggregate are made better off, the losers from trade could be compensated from the gains of trade. Our economy is doing wonderfully.