When Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, White-Collar Workers Leave

Some places are losing more lawyers and accountants than factory workers.

It’s a sad but familiar story. A plant closes, and dozens or hundreds or thousands of decently paid factory workers lose their jobs. Unable to find work that compensates them nearly as well, they have little choice but to accept low-wage employment in retail or restaurants.

What’s less familiar is that under such scenarios factory towns lose sizable chunks of their white-collar workforce as well.

by Alan Greenblatt

http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-white-collar-job-drain-brain-drain.html