It is not meant to make light of mass layoff situations.
I've driven across the US, from coast-to-coast, and have family in KS. I am familiar with the territory and notice the effects. Even the effects of smaller industry shifts like Boeing leaving Wichita, KS.
Understandable difficulties foster people's hesitation to move, particularly if they own a home or are near retirement age. But remaining in an area without the prospect of economic growth is not the best option. Worker mobility is nothing new and an important strategy for finding new employment.
I live in Alaska now and our oil industry is falling off a cliff due to the oil price crash. The oil industry provides 90% of Alaska's state revenue, so you can imagine the shock it will have on our economy. It's only a matter of time before people begin moving out of state to find new jobs. Moving from or to Alaska the is no easy task either, it's a long and expensive journey. This is nothing new though.
People moved out of state when oil prices crashed in the 1980s and new people moved to the state when oil prices recovered. Hordes of people from the lower-48 moved up here during the financial crisis, because our economy was strong with oil at $120 per barrel. With the industry in a death spiral, people are again starting to pack up and leave.
The hiring industry depends on the city or region. A ubiquitous industry is health, most of the trade workers are male, and, unfortunately, many find the industry emasculating. Probably explains why women who use the TAA program are garnering higher wages in their new careers, since they are not as apprehensive about changing careers.
Jobs were outsourced to China, but it was not anticipated that we would outsource the jobs at such a high rate. The speed of outsourcing was too fast for the US to adjust its labor force. But outsourcing is beginning to normalize as foreign wages increase. Even in China, workers are beginning to protest and it will not be long before they form unions to demand higher wages. Will a plant close down here and there still? Yes, but more manufacturing plants are opening than closing.
The negative ramifications of future trade agreements will never be as bad as what has already occurred. The worst is over. "The China Shock" was a one time event. One of the requirements of TPP is that countries allow unions to forms, which will increase wages in the country. The reality is China will begin to lose manufacturing jobs to competitors more than us, since our industries are largely competitive under current markets.
To override NAFTA and other free trade agreements to bring back manufacturing jobs would only provide a temporary relief. Since labor unions here demand far higher salaries than abroad, the high wages of the workers are priced into the products they manufacture. People will purchase products that are more competitively priced, products that are manufactured abroad or find cheaper substitutes. The local manufacturer plants will go out of business due to foreign competition. The businesses who design the products will go out of business as well, if they are not allowed to outsource. It would require tariffs and starting a tariff war would put the US in a worse economic position than we were during the financial crisis.