Massachusetts is among the states hardest hit by the United States’ trade deficit with China, which has grown by $100 billion since the Great Recession and has stripped nearly 100,000 jobs from the state, according to a new study.

The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank co-founded by Northeastern University economist Barry Bluestone, reported in its study released Tuesday that every state and Congressional district has lost manufacturing jobs due to the trade deficit.

However, few have been hit as hard as the Bay State, and in particular the Third Congressional District. Massachusetts lost 99,100 jobs from 2001 to 2017, or 2.75 percent of its total workforce making it the seventh hardest hit state in the country from competition with China. New Hampshire ranked number one most impacted, with 3.55 percent of its net jobs displaced, and four of the six New England states were in the top 10.

The study also looked at the impact on jobs by Congressional district, and found that the district represented by retiring Rep. Niki Tsongas of Lowell was the ninth hardest hit Congressional district in the country by the goods trade deficit with China.

According to the report, 20,000 jobs in the Third District, or 5.63 percent of district employment, were displaced. The Third District, which includes the former mill cities of Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill, has a particularly rich industrial manufacturing history.

Overall, EPI found that the trade deficit has cost the United States 3.4 million jobs between 2001 and 2017, with the trade deficit in the computer and electronic parts industry the most acute. Jobs in that industry, according to the study, are concentrated in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon and Texas, helping to explain why those states were among the hardest hit.

U.S. Trade Deficit with China Costs State 100K Jobs

by State House News Service time to read: 1 min
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