"Wouldn't that mean that job creation has outpaced natural population increases?"
Well that's true. And in-sourcing is outpacing in-sourcing, according to Roger Hedgecock.
And in-sourcing is outpacing in-sourcing... er... in-sourcing outpacing out-sourcing? Or is it out-sourcing outpacing in-sourcing? Whatever it is, it's good.
When I consider the fact that since the late sixties the number of women who entered the workforce (usually by choice I might add) was HUGE and we have still managed to decrease our unemployment rate...well, capitalism is an amazing thing.
That said, my guess is that women entering the work force since 1973 have done more to reduce the real wage rates than free trade agreements. Simply because the laws of supply and demand would suggest that women were initially less "qualified" and therefore would work for less. I bet, however, that is changing rather rapidly.
In addition, there is a tremendous amount of work that is being brought back home because cheaper labor is not always the best labor. We all need to remember that. If we quit whining and work hard, we are still the best doggone workers in the world. There just isn't much incentive to DO A GOOD JOB when you are underpaid...or even not paid at all. We can complete with that. Because with capitalism—quality still matters in a whole lot of areas.