Apple’s US-Made Macs, Drop in the Bucket, Could Herald Job Flood

Apple invested $10 billion on equipment for making products and 1percent of that sum to shift production of one Mac line to the US. The shift could be a token gesture, an effort by Apple to avoid becoming the focus of heated political debates. Or, as an article in Wired suggests, the shift could signal the realization that shifting jobs from China to the United States makes financial sense. China became the world’s factory because of low wages, averaging about 58 cents per hour in 2001 when China joined the World Trade Organization, report Marcus Wohlsen and Alexandra Chang, but those wages have steadily risen 15 to 20 percent annually since. US workers are reported to be three times as productive. Wages for assembly-line work pays about the same as jobs in fast-food restaurants. Analysts suggest that companies face increasing political pressure to locate jobs in their key markets – and competition could soon center on how quickly managers can relocate operations. – YaleGlobal