High earners? Check. Low earners? Check. The folks in the middle? They're the ones expected to be shut out of the expected growth of some 8 million jobs over the next five years. So says a new study from CareerBuilder, which projects that the center of the job market will "hollow out," leaving behind middle-wage workers, as high- and low-earning jobs expand. Related: 10 ways to reach job seekers in the digital age CareerBuilder defined low-wage jobs as those that pay $14.17 or less per hour; middle-wage jobs as $14.18-$23.59 per hour; and high-wage jobs as $23.24 per hour. Its analysis is based on data from Emsi, and focuses on 774 occupations classified by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It includes data for workers who are employed with organizations and those who are self-employed. According to the study's analysis of historical and current labor market trends, the U.S. is expected to add 8,310,003 jobs (5.08 percent growth) from 2018 to 2023. However, only a quarter of these new positions will be in the middle-wage category. In addition, middle-wage jobs are expected to make up the majority of a projected loss of 369,879 jobs over the same period. The loss is factored into the total job growth. The highest net job growth is expected to occur in both high- and low-earning positions from 2018 to 2023, says the report, at 5.71 percent and 5.69 percent, respectively. Middle-wage employment is only projected to increase by 3.83 percent. During that period, each of the other two categories are expected to add a million more jobs than middle wage will, with high wage expected to add 3,117,284 jobs and low wage 3,098,476 jobs. Middle-wage jobs are only expected to increase by 2,094,243. Jobs are expected to decline in 121 occupations during that period, with 75 of them being middle wage. In addition, middle wage will account for 58 percent of the expected loss of some 369,879 jobs across all 121 categories. And STEM-related occupations (science, technology, engineering and math) are expected to continue dominating fast-growing occupations. Are you ready for your future career?
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
