The shrinking middle class has been a trend in America's job market for years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that hundreds of thousands of jobs for middle- to low-skilled workers may disappear by 2024. Many blame new technology and outsourcing, even though the overall job outlook states 10 million more Americans should have jobs over the same time frame.
Education
The slow demise of the middle class is happening for a few reasons, according to 24/7 Wall St. Many positions require little to no prior experience or advanced education. In fact, more than 90 million Americans have jobs that require less than a bachelor's degree. Most positions with higher skill sets require just a two-year associate degree.
Low educational requirements also mean smaller salaries. Employees of the middle class jobs disappearing the fastest earn around $40,000 per year. Most of these jobs lack specialization, which means technology, automation and computers can replace some or all of what a human worker can do.
Technology
Post offices and print media companies suffered huge job losses due to computers, the Internet and the rise of mobile devices. People read their news and exchange information through emails, blogs, online articles and videos rather than reading traditional newspapers or crafting handwritten letters.
Due to automation, companies now need workers who can run and fix high-tech devices rather than manual laborers. The job market changed dramatically thanks to technology, and middle class workers need to find ways to retrain themselves if they want the best jobs and higher pay. Luckily, a competitive labor market means higher salaries across the board. Companies have positions they need to fill and must recruit the right talent. Workers must find out what types of hard skills, qualifications and education they need now before more jobs disappear in the future.
Disappearing Middle Class Jobs
Media outlet 24/7 Wall St. identified and reviewed more than a dozen jobs that should decline between 2014 and 2024, based on Department of Labor figures. Employees with these jobs face the largest projected declines among workers with an associate's degree or less. These jobs usually don't require prior work experience.
Bank tellers represent one of the largest segments of middle-income workers, with more than 520,000 positions. By 2024, as many as 40,000 of these jobs may disappear due to online banking and mobile apps replacing what tellers used to do at a bank's counter.
Accounting clerks are vital positions, as these professionals manage business finances. Improved accounting software could make 8 percent of these jobs obsolete by 2024, as the market for accounting clerks drops from 1.76 million to 1.61 million.
Mail clerks, whether they work with the U.S. Postal Service or not, might see sharp declines in jobs from 2014 to 2024. Nearly 20,000 employees might lose their jobs because of widespread telecommunication improvements. The number of mail sorters who work in huge facilities could decline by 34 percent due to automation, leading to a loss of more than 50,000 jobs.
The good news is that highly skilled work that requires better training is on the rise. Middle class Americans should consider working in the health care, computer or technology industries to improve their chances of obtaining stable employment with good pay.
Photo courtesy of DonkeyHotey at Flickr.com
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