What ever happened to middle wage jobs?
The good news: Between 2018 and 2023, U.S. jobs are projected to grow by 5.08 percent, adding over 8 million new jobs. The not-so-good news: Growth is expected to take place largely in high- and low-wage occupations, with middle-wage occupations lagging far behind.
According to a recent study by CareerBuilder, only about a quarter of the 8,310,003 new jobs added over the next five years will be in middle wage occupations.
The study found that high-wage occupations are expected to grow by 5.71 percent, and low-wage jobs will grow by 5.69 percent. Middle-wage occupations, however, will only increase by 3.83 percent.
Declining occupations
Looking at jobs projections for 774 occupations tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study identified 121 occupations that will lose jobs between 2018 and 2023. Seventy-five of the occupations that will lose jobs are middle-wage.
Added up, these 121 occupations are projected to lose 369,879 jobs, with middle-wage occupations accounting for 58 percent of lost jobs.
All jobs are tech jobs
Many of the fastest-growing occupations are technology-based or have technological components. Workers hoping to capitalize on increasing demand for talent or to migrate to faster-growing industries should look for ways to add new tech-focused skills, and include any experience with technology on their resumes.
“Workers across all job levels will need to continually pursue opportunities to upskill in order to maneuver around accelerated shifts in labor demand,” says Irina Novoselsky, CEO of CareerBuilder. “This is a particularly pressing issue for middle-wage workers who are at greater risk for becoming displaced and workers in general who want to move up into better-paying jobs.”
Growth across wage categories
While middle-wage occupations aren’t expected to keep pace with high- and low-wage occupations, there are still many occupations in all three categories that are projected to add jobs. Some examples include:
|
Fast-Growing Occupations by Wage Category |
2018 Jobs |
2023 Jobs |
Jobs Added (2018-2023) |
% Change (2018-2023) |
Median Hourly Earnings |
|
High Wage |
|||||
|
3,040,884 |
3,295,931 |
255,047 |
8.39% |
$33.55 |
|
|
921,232 |
1,064,698 |
143,466 |
15.57% |
$48.49 |
|
|
1,530,589 |
1,641,544 |
110,955 |
7.25% |
$33.53 |
|
|
1,428,748 |
1,514,827 |
86,079 |
6.02% |
$32.33 |
|
|
660,150 |
743,337 |
83,187 |
12.6% |
$30.21 |
|
|
722,078 |
776,122 |
54,044 |
7.48% |
$24.16 |
|
|
508,702 |
552,327 |
43,625 |
8.58% |
$23.72 |
|
|
Middle Wage |
|||||
|
2,864,930 |
2,985,603 |
120,673 |
4.21% |
$15.88 |
|
|
705,056 |
807,330 |
102,274 |
14.51% |
$15.62 |
|
|
1,404,290 |
1,496,472 |
92,182 |
6.56% |
$14.73 |
|
|
1,552,441 |
1,636,372 |
83,931 |
5.41% |
$18.08 |
|
|
753,975 |
809,320 |
55,345 |
7.34% |
$21.56 |
|
|
954,204 |
1,003,041 |
48,837 |
5.12% |
$15.04 |
|
|
515,706 |
559,989 |
44,283 |
8.59% |
$17.85 |
|
|
Low Wage |
|||||
|
926,500 |
1,134,232 |
207,732 |
22.42% |
$11.17 |
|
|
2,666,275 |
2,812,556 |
146,281 |
5.49% |
$10.01 |
|
|
4,574,115 |
4,682,344 |
108,229 |
2.37% |
$11.29 |
|
|
1,349,883 |
1,450,547 |
100,664 |
7.46% |
$12.06 |
|
|
1,522,723 |
1,619,107 |
96,384 |
6.33% |
$13.23 |
|
|
1,210,962 |
1,272,926 |
61,964 |
5.12% |
$12.97 |
|
|
1,104,928 |
1,174,389 |
69,461 |
6.29% |
$13.70 |
If you know what industry you want to work in, but aren’t sure how to get started, consider these great entry-level jobs by industry.
For the purposes of the study, low-wage occupations are defined as those with a median hourly pay of $14.17 or less; middle-wage occupations have a median hourly pay between $14.18-$23.59; and high-wage are occupations with median hourly pay of $23.24 or higher.
