Washington ? Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, venturing into the politically charged debate over shipping U.S. jobs overseas, warned on Friday against resorting to “protectionist cures” to deal with job losses.

Greenspan said that upgrading educational opportunities for low-skilled workers in America was the best way to deal with increased competition.

He conceded that there were heightened job insecurities in the current environment in which nearly 2 million unemployed Americans have spent more than a year looking for a new job.

“The protectionist cures being advanced to address these hardships will make matters worse rather than better,” Greenspan said in a speech to the Omaha, Neb., Chamber of Commerce. “Protectionism will do little to create jobs, and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs.”