Covid-19 isn’t bringing jobs back to America

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had a spectacularly insensitive reaction to China’s Covid-19 epidemic during a recent interview: “I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America. Some to US.... Probably some to Mexico as well ... the fact is, it does give businesses yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply chain.”

This is a heartless thing to say at a time when thousands of Chinese people have been infected and millions more are huddling indoors as the disease spreads. But it’s also probably wrong on the merits. The coronavirus is unlikely to be a boon for US employment.