The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 2.9 million private sector jobs have been lost since 2001. Experts predict that many of these jobs will never be restored even if the economy recovers. Manufacturing has been the hardest hit. The Federal Reserve reported that close to 80% of industrial jobs will not be recovered. Other industries, including high-tech, have been affected as well. Forester Research has estimated that by 2015, over 3 million service sector jobs will be moved overseas or become obsolete due to new technology.
See "Vanishing jobs", Leslie Haggin Geary, CNN, December 17, 2003