Ablue-collar worker is a person who performsmanual labor orskilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involvemanufacturing,warehousing,mining,carpentry,electrical work,custodial work,agriculture,logging,landscaping,food processing,waste collection and disposal,construction,shipping, and many other types of physical work. Blue-collar work often involves something being physically built or maintained. In social status, blue-collar workers generally belong to theworking class.
In contrast, thewhite-collar worker typically performs work in an office environment and may involve sitting at a computer or desk. A third type of work is a service worker (pink collar) whose labor is related to customer interaction, entertainment, sales or other service-oriented work — particularly those service jobs that have been traditionally considered to bewomen's work, such as secretaries, nurses, teachers, early childhood educators, florists, etc.[1] Many occupations blend blue, white, or pink-collar work and are often paid hourlywage-labor, although some professionals may be paid by the project or salaried. There are a wide range of payscales for such work depending upon field of specialty and experience.
The term blue collar was first used in reference to trades jobs in 1924, in anAlden, Iowa newspaper.[2] The phrase stems from the image of manual workers wearing bluedenim orchambray shirts as part of their uniforms.[3] Industrial and manual workers often wear durable canvas or cotton clothing that may be soiled during the course of their work. Navy and light blue colors conceal potential dirt or grease on the worker's clothing, helping them to appear cleaner. For the same reason, blue is a popular color forboilersuits which protect workers' clothing. Some blue collar workers have uniforms with the name of the business or the individual's name embroidered or printed on it.
Historically, the popularity of the colour blue among manual labourers contrasts with the popularity of white dress shirts worn by people in office environments. The blue collar/white collar colour scheme hassocio-economic class connotations. However, this distinction has become blurred with the increasing importance ofskilled labor, and the relative increase in low-paying white-collar jobs.
Since many blue-collar jobs consist of mainly manual labor, educational requirements for workers are typically lower than those of white-collar workers. Often, not even a high school diploma is required, and many of the skills required for blue-collar jobs are learned by the employeewhile working. In higher-level blue collar jobs, such as becoming anelectrician orplumber,vocational training orapprenticeships are required and state-certification is also necessary.[4] For this reason, it is common to apply the label "blue collar" or "working class" to people without a college education, whether or not they work in a blue-collar job. Some people who find themselves in academic jobs who were raised by parents or belong to families that are predominately blue-collar may take on some of the habits, processes, and philosophies utilized by laborers and workers. Some of these students, staff, and faculty refer to themselves asblue-collar scholars.
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With theInformation Age,Western nations have moved towards a service and white-collar economy. Many manufacturing jobs have beenoffshored to developing nations which pay their workers lower wages. This offshoring has pushed formerlyagrarian nations to industrialized economies and concurrently decreased the number of blue-collar jobs in developed countries. However, in many of these countries, such as the United States, the supply of blue collar labor (especially skilled trades) has declined faster than demand for these services has fallen. Driven by a gradually aging blue collar workforce and shifting preferences towards higher education, this trend was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic.[5]
In the U.S., blue collar and service occupations generally refer to jobs in precision production, craft, and repair occupations; machine operators and inspectors; transportation and moving occupations; handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.[6]
In the U.S., an area known as theRust Belt, comprising theNortheast andMidwest, includingWestern New York andWestern Pennsylvania, has seen its once large manufacturing base shrink significantly. With the deindustrialization of these areas beginning in the mid-1960s and accelerating throughout the late 20th century, cities likeAllentown,Bethlehem,Erie, andPittsburgh inPennsylvania;Cleveland,Toledo, andYoungstown inOhio;Detroit inMichigan;Buffalo andRochester inNew York; andSt. Louis inMissouri experienced a steady decline of their blue-collar workforce, subsequent population decreases, and high unemployment, poverty, and urban blight associated with Rust Belt economies.
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Blue-collar can be used as an adjective to describe the environment of the blue-collar worker or a setting reflective of that environment, such as a "blue-collar" neighborhood,restaurant, orbar.[7]
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