Compared to 1995, the US is employing about 11 percent fewer factory workers today than it did then. That's about 1% of factory jobs per year. And those jobs are themselves only form about 10% of total US employment, IMS. So his figures of 0.1% decline/year seem to be in the right ballpark.

However, despite this decline in employment, total US manufacturing output has enormously, because manufacturing productivity has been growing extremely quickly. This is a worldwide phenomenon: even China has 15% fewer factory workers than it did back in the mid-1990s. That increased productivity means that the price of manufactured goods is dropping, which means that peoples' money can buy more: they have extra real wealth. And real wealth that can (and is) used to create new businesses.

Bemoaning the jobs "lost" to Wal-mart sounds progressive, but actually, it's not. It's low-income people -- the ones who have to stretch dollars the hardest to make ends meet -- who benefit the most from the reduced prices that Chinese factories and Wal-mart's logistics system bring to retail.