The Future is Bright for Blue Collar America
There has, in recent years, been a feeling that America has been moving further and further away from blue-collar labor, which is largely true. Detroit is no longer a bustling hub of automotive manufacturing, but a decrepit ghost town. West Virginia coal mines are closing left and right, leaving thousands of workers unemployed. This trend is something President Donald Trump used very effectively in his 2016 campaign. However, it seems that blue collar jobs are on the rise in America once again.
E-Commerce is something that has quite simply revolutionized the economy in America and will bring about the greatest change since Keith Tantlinger perfected the shipping container in the 1950s. Amazon grew from a website that sold books to the largest company in the world, sending everything from toothpaste to taborets across America. With this development, comes the need for warehouse workers, truck drivers and more supply chain-related necessities. Unfortunately, that’s been a serious problem of late. However, in 2013, 180,300 of these types of jobs were created. By 2018 that number rose to 452,000 blue-collar job creations.
It’s safe to say that the corona-virus pandemic has permanently altered the way that people shop. Pre-COVID, online shopping grew around 4.5% per year. As a result of the pandemic, the amount of online shopping shot through the roof. And Americans, enjoying this increased convenience, continue to favor these services at a rate significantly higher than previously, even as the pandemic seems to be winding down.
This shift in consumerism is resulting in jobs. Companies like Amazon, UPS and FedEx are constantly hiring and are relatively desperate for employees. For instance, UPS has a practice of extending job offers to people after just filling in an application and taking a quick test. They constantly need more workers because they are growing at such a rapid rate.
While the manufacturing jobs of old may not be coming back, the future's still bright for blue-collar workers. Warehouse and trucking jobs are in ever increasing demand no matter what part of the country you’re in. The economy is evolving rapidly, and we all must catch up.
