Economists largely agree that manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back, but the United States could slow the losses by attracting more advanced manufacturing, especially in green energy, Mr. Bernstein said. “Some smart country is going to dominate the market for battery storage, for example,” he said. “That should be us.”

People who lose their jobs often don’t have the money to pick up and move to where jobs and training are, so he suggests the government help people move. But it’s not just about money — many people don’t want to upend their lives.

Bolster the Safety Net

There seems to be bipartisan support for expanding the earned-income tax credit, which rewards low-income people for working.

Much more fanciful, at least in the United States, is a universal basic income, in which the government gives everyone a guaranteed amount of money. But that idea is gaining with thinkers across the ideological spectrum. Critics say it would discourage people from working; proponents say it would free them to go back to school or to do work they’re passionate about.

“The key response must initially be to expand the earned-income tax credit and then ultimately have a universal basic income ensuring at least subsistence,” said Robert Reich, public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who was labor secretary under President Clinton.

More realistically, the Obama administration proposed wage insurance to make up the difference for people who move to lower-paying jobs. For instance, machinists, in a shrinking occupation, earn a median hourly wage of $19.50, while home health care aides, in a growing occupation, earn $10.50.

Change the Way Work Is Done

Most people have skills to earn money, so why not make it easier to do so without an employer? Freelance and contract workers could get portable benefits. They wouldn’t have to be tied to a job to get health insurance, for example, (though the drama over health care makes the expansion of other benefits seem unlikely). Similar and more feasible ideas include easing regulations for companies to hire contract workers (which is happening more, though not necessarily to the benefit of workers), and building co-working spaces so that people get the camaraderie of an office.