The idea that regulations take money away from "job creation" is asinine.
It's not completely asinine, nor is it completely true.
The government mandates that your car have a catalytic convertor. How does that take away a job? Would the car manufacturer hire an extra worker if a car was cheaper to make? Why?
Well, quite possibly yes. If a car costs $20,000 the manuf. might sell 8,000 units annually. If you mandate catalytic converters be added and the price increases to $20,500 the manuf. might sell 7,750 annually. If an assembly line worker can make 250 units annually then the manufacturer's labor needs drop from 32 workers to 31 workers. Additionally, net revenue for the manufacturer dropped by $1,125,000.
If the car itself costs $16,000 to build and the catalytic converter costs $450 to purchase then net material costs dropped by $512,500. The Company's profit margin is affected by $612,500. That's an additional 8 jobs at $50k/yr + $25k/yr in benefits. Total jobs lost by the manufacturer: 9.
This is, obviously, a hypothetical scenario using numbers I made up but it illustrates the point that regulations that increase operational costs CAN cost jobs.
Doesn't the job of the guy building catalytic converters count?
Yes, it does. Obviously to the car manufacturer it doesn't, but to the public it does. There are a few key questions though:
1. Will the manufacture of 7,750 catalytic converters create more jobs than were lost by the car manufacturer? If one person can make 2000 catalytic converters per year then you need 4 workers. That's not a good trade-off. If one person can make 500 catalytic converters then you need 16 workers, so that may be a good trade-off.
2. Is the catalytic converter company new or existing? If it's new then it might add more jobs since you'll have to account for supervisors, HR, accountants, etc. If it's existing then it's possible that the workers will be the only jobs added since an existing company might be able to absorb them into the current infrastructure. Additionally, a new company would need to buy equipment which would give a one-time spur further down the line whereas an existing company might be able to add a shift with no new equipment.
3. How are catalytic converter jobs paid compared to can manufacturing jobs? If the car manufacturer loses 9 workers and the catalytic converter manufacturer gains 9 workers but the catalytic converter workers are paid 75% as much as the car manufacturer workers, that's a net loss to society.
So, yes, gov't regulation can cause the loss of jobs. It can also create jobs. It can cause jobs to shift to lower-paying industries and it can cause jobs to shift to higher-paying industries.