Blue-Collar Jobs Boom But May Be Bust For Elders

It is good to hear good news in the midst of the pandemic & the WSJ’s “Blue-Collar Jobs Boom in Pandemic” is one of them. It comes on the heels of another story suggesting Rust Belt jobs are holding stronger than the Coastal hi-tech industries, another uncommon turnabout from the usual.

In fact, the newspaper tells us the U.S.’s blue collar workforce has begun to benefit from a strengthening job market as “residential construction, package delivery & warehousing jobs exceed pre-pandemic levels & some companies can’t find enough workers.” We’re also told by quoted experts that lost jobs in the manufacturing, retail & restaurant sectors should also be up ticking soon.

Let’s hope the positive trend continues. However, it’s no wonder many of the available jobs are hard to fill. What the article doesn’t mention is that many of these blue collar jobs are a physical bitch to handle, especially for middle aged and up folks. We’ve all heard stories of laid off men & women in their upper 50s who may not be able to return to their jobs because they were already on the verge of not being able to endure the stress or energy required. Just look into the eyes of your older grocery store check out person and see the struggle. I thought the elderly man checking me out on Saturday was going to pass out so I helped him bag… Are these the new “Forgotten Men & Women”, a faceless class of folks, who will have the hardest time recovering from the “recovery”?

Davd Soul