Theoretically, those people who lost their jobs are now free to use their time producing some other product, thus increasing GDP. We'll see if that happens, though.
Exactly. Skilled labor and an aged population doesn't help much. What happens to the worker over 50...or even 40 with a family to privide for...there isn't much time to acquire new skills. It's easier said when you don't have a family to provide for or responsibilities. There should be a transition period where people are allowed time to obtain new skills instead of being dropped...and in some cases, left to be picked up by local government - job training programs are not cheap.
They have those training programs in America. The problem is training or education never created a job. You can stamp all the degrees and certifications you want, but if there's no jobs, its fundamentally not going to help.
If you have 11 pounds of flour to put in a 10 pound bag, no matter what you do with applying nice looking labels, its not gonna fit.