Did jobs ever return?
No, they never returned
And their fate is still unlearn'd
They may ride forever
'neath the halls of Congress
They're the jobs that never returned.
Actually, the fate of many jobs has been learned, but not by those in Washington who think their posturing and speeches are going to bring them back.
Changing technology keeps changing the jobs needed. The railroads put lots of cart drivers out of business. More powerful locomotives with more safety features moved more freight with fewer and smaller crews. Computers reduced the need for typists and all kinds of other office help. The Internet reduced the need for printing, sales people, and order processors. I think most of us over 50 can make, in less than an hour, a list of 100 jobs that no longer exist or whose need is greatly reduced.
Politicians think that tax cuts or business incentives are going to bring jobs back. But the hiring of the unemployed is going to be minimal. More than likely the target businesses are going to hire people from other firms with the required "experience" or "skills".
That is another factor that makes creating jobs so difficult. Once upon a time, companies hired workers with some general knowledge about the work and trained them on the job for the needed specifics. Nowadays, if you don't have the required "skill set", fuhgedaboutit! Some of these skill sets are so detailed that it is a wonder that companies find anybody.
See "The New Poor: In Job Market Shift, Some Workers Are Left Behind", Catherine Rampell, New York Times, 2010-05-12, "Dentistry and the economy", "Forget jobs, create opportunities", and "Where have all the jobs gone?"
