42% of Gen Z workers say they’re turning to blue-collar roles for security

Forty-two percent of Generation Z adults are currently working in or pursuing a blue-collar or skilled trade job, according to a May 20 report from Resume Builder. Of those, 37% have earned a bachelor’s degree. 

In the survey of more than 1,400 Gen Z adults, men were significantly more likely to choose blue-collar careers, regardless of education level. Among those with college degrees, 46% of men are working in or pursuing skilled trades, as compared with 27% of women.

“More Gen Z college graduates are turning to trade careers and for good reason,” said Stacie Haller, chief career advisor for Resume Builder. “Many are concerned about AI replacing traditional white-collar roles, while trade jobs offer hands-on work that’s difficult to automate. Additionally, many grads find their degrees don’t lead to careers in their field, prompting them to explore more practical, in-demand alternatives.”

Gen Z workers with degrees noted several reasons they chose blue-collar work over a career aligned with their degree, including better long-term prospects (30%), an inability to find a job in their field (19%), not earning enough with their degree (16%) and their degree not leading to the career they expected (16%).

In addition, Gen Z workers said they want more flexibility or independence, believe trade careers are in high demand and believe blue-collar jobs are less likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence.

Among Gen Z workers without degrees, blue-collar work appears to offer a path to financial independence without student loans, the report found. They pointed to motivations such as earning income sooner (60%), avoiding student loan debt (40%), gaining better long-term security (36%), earning more without a degree (31%) and believing these jobs are less likely to be replaced by AI (28%).

The U.S. job market could face a “white-collar recession,” according to a report from Employ Inc. Segments of the labor market are evolving and fragmenting, the report found, with job postings for certain desk-based roles declining year over year.

As the labor market continues to change, workers seem willing to make trade-offs in pay and location to remain employable and flexible, according to a Randstad report. Workers said they value job security, time flexibility and well-being and would give up a higher salary and remote work in exchange.

While losing bargaining power, workers feel like they’re walking on eggshells in a fragile work environment, according to a BambooHR report. Low turnover could indicate a lack of job opportunities and anxiety related to job insecurity stress, the report found.