I heard about this on NPR's Marketplace and A New Can Of Worms mentions it appears in the WSJ: Manufacturing Payrolls Declining Globally: The Untold Story By Joseph Carson:

Factory Jobs Slashed. The popular explanation for the decline in US manufacturing payrolls is that American workers are being categorically replaced by workers in China and other parts of Asia. In truth, factory jobs have been slashed not only in America and Europe, but in Asia as well.

Contrary to popular belief, the global push to relocate facilities to countries with lower production costs has not caused an increase in manufacturing employment in those areas. In fact, since 1995, the reduction of manufacturing jobs in China has been as large as that of any other country.

Merely lowering operating costs is not enough for businesses to survive today. Enormous gains in technology have raised the bar on global competitiveness, punishing firms with outmoded facilities regardless of their location.

These new developments are certainly bullish for both the US and global economies, as manufacturers will need to continue to invest in innovative technologies in order to remain competitive.

...

China's Job Losses. One of our more interesting findings is that, taken on its own, China's job losses are double the average of the remaining 17 countries* for the same seven-year period. Manufacturing employment in the 17 largest economies other than China fell a little more than 7%, from 96 million in 1995 to 89 million in 2002. In contrast, China's fell a whopping 15% in the period, from 98 million in 1995 to 83 million in 2002.

Notwithstanding the continuous influx of foreign investment and new employment, China has been unable to escape the drive toward productivity enhancement and the resultant downsizing of the manufacturing workforce. In 2002 alone, although nearly 2 million factory jobs were created, China's manufacturing employment level for the year was below 1998 and far below 1995.

I bet the anti-trade populists won't change their tune, though.