"The challenge, though, is it only takes 100 workers to make what it used to take 1,000 workers to make in terms of the amount of steel," he said. "So that's why we're going to have to look at new industries and encourage entrepreneurs to invest in these new industries and make sure that our workers have the skills to train them.
So in essence he has admitted that it takes far less workers, an order of magnitude in this comment, to make the same stuff as before. Now add to that the amount of manufacturing that has left the United States and you get a real picture. Now add to that the fact that roughly 25% of the US population has at least a bachelors degree and that the numbers of jobs that require such expertise are far less than available workers. You start to see that relatively high unemployment will be the rule in the US so long as brains and brawn can be paid less elsewhere and mechanization and automation continue apace. Wait till the medical industry can use robots for nurses (as they are going full bore into creating in places like Japan), A whole segment of the work force will be decimated.
Mind you I'm not blaming Obama for this. He simply is saying what other presidents and other insiders have known for a long time.