What are gray-collar jobs, and are they really on the rise?

Key insights

• Gray-collar jobs blend physical labor with professional knowledge, falling between blue-collar and white-collar roles.
• Employment in gray-collar occupations is expected to increase in the US.
• However, rather than solely focusing on the combination of manual and skilled jobs, technology and healthcare are particularly driving the most growing occupations due to the aging population and technological advancement.

When categorizing jobs as either office-based or not, we often rely on the terms "blue-collar" and "white-collar". "Blue-collar" typically encompasses manual labor or skilled trade, like manufacturing, construction, maintenance, driving, or trucking. Conversely, "white-collar" denotes professional, desk-based, managerial, or administrative work.

I'd like to emphasize that I'm using these terms solely to categorize the nature of someone's work. In today's context, they don't necessarily indicate a person's education level or income, as the demand for so-called "blue-collar" jobs is increasing significantly.

However, what about roles that blend aspects of both categories? Recently, there has been a surge of articles about the rise of so-called “gray-collar jobs", combining elements of blue- and white-collar work.

What are gray-collar jobs?

The lines between “blue-” and “white-collar” have been blurring over time. Now, these occupations in the middle were given a name. “Gray-collar” roles fall in between blue-collar and white-collar jobs, combining physical labor akin to blue-collar positions with skill requirements that often match or exceed those of white-collar jobs. Employees most of the time don’t need a college degree but long- or medium-term on-the-job training or postsecondary non-degree awards. Occupations falling under the umbrella of gray-collar jobs encompass a diverse range, such as police officers, electricians, flight attendants, firefighters, childcare workers, nurses, and various health professionals.

Are gray-collar jobs on the rise?

As highlighted in a recent Forbes article about the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook, gray-collar jobs are dominating among those occupations with the highest expected employment growth. However, a closer look at the projected employment growth of typical gray-collar occupations reveals another trend. The majority of gray-collar jobs are indeed expected to experience growth rates surpassing or aligning with the average pace, such as firefighters or police officers and detectives. Notably, the leading gray-collar roles often require technical or health-related skills.

Healthcare and tech lead in employment growth projections

It’s fair to say that employment in many gray-collar jobs will increase. However, this trend may not solely stem from the inherent nature of these roles, which blend physical labor with advanced skills. Rather it reflects the fact that many of these occupations align with the fields of technology and healthcare. This becomes apparent when looking at those occupations projected to experience the highest growth in employment in the coming years.

The aging population and technological advancements as driving factors

The list of the fastest growing occupations reflects that the shift in the job market is driven by two key factors: the aging population, and advancements in technology, both contributing to significant projected employment growth in related occupations. Healthcare support and computer and mathematical occupations are forecasted to experience a much faster-than-average employment surge of approximately 15% over a ten-year projection period from 2022 to 2032.

Within the healthcare sector, home health and personal care aides are anticipated to witness a surge in job openings, with an annual average of 80,500 new positions from 2022 to 2032. This notable increase is attributed to the growing demand for these workers, essential in caring for the expanding aging population. Even though this occupation is already the second largest in the US, with 3.5 million workers employed.

The other half of the most rapidly expanding occupations are in the technological realm, with wind turbine service technicians anticipated to experience a 45% growth in employment, and data scientists projected to see a 35% increase, emerging as the top-growing tech occupations.

Conclusion: Employers prepare for “gray-collar” demand while workers leverage new career opportunities

The demand for numerous gray-collar occupations is projected to rise, posing challenges for employers in preparing for a tightening labor market in these fields. Occupations once considered easy to fill will now become more challenging to recruit for, especially in sectors like healthcare and technology, where the demand for gray-collar workers is particularly high.

For job seekers, these occupations present viable career choices, especially considering the increasing impact of AI and automation on job roles. Positions involving physical labor may show greater resilience in the face of these changes. Moreover, as competition intensifies for white-collar office positions amidst rising college education rates, roles involving physical work offer a less saturated job market for prospective employees.