[achompas]

If they could have been in a better job, they likely would have been.

There are a number of reasons this is not the case. I'd wager that a main reason is "re-training takes too much time." If a worker gets laid off, gets his Associate's, and starts something new, well, that's a net positive scenario. He or she produces output in a new field, while the transcription software replaces their old output. Net positive outcome.

You call it "handwaving," but the above happens to many people. This is not some accounting trick economists have developed.