Trade expert : Services export can boost U.S. job creation

Export from the fast-growing services sector can be a significant propeller for job creation in America, a trade expert said Tuesday. American policy makers have largely overlooked the export potential of the services sector, which could become an abundant source of well-paying jobs for Americans, said J. Bradford Jensen, a senior fellow with Washington-based think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics. "In the past decade employment in services has grown by over 20 percent while manufacturing declined by 20 percent," said Jensen, author of Global Trade in Services: Fear, Facts and Offshoring. He pointed out several misconceptions about U.S. services. A common belief is that business services such as software, finance, architecture and engineering are niche sectors. However, these jobs account for 25 percent of U.S. workers -- more than double those in manufacturing. Another misconception is that services are "bad jobs with low wages." However, latest statistics showed that average annual income in the services sector is about 20 percent higher than in the manufacturing sector. Additionally, some experts argue that services are not tradable. Jesen finds that there are more jobs in the tradable business service sector than in the entire manufacturing sector. He predicts that American tradable services will be in high demand over the next 25 years, adding that policy makers should steer to export tradable services to create jobs in America. Jensen also noted that the United States, which is suffering from a high level of unemployment, should act quickly to take the opportunities for job creation presented by the coming infrastructure boom in the emerging market and developing countries.