A Background Note on "Unskilled" Jobs in the United States - Past, Present, and Future

Since 1917, American jobs have been classified by their skill level. “Unskilled work” was said to, “require no special training, judgment, or manual dexterity, but supply mainly muscular strength for the performance of coarse, heavy workdexterity.” It was the largest category of work and included mostly non-white and foreign-born workers who were employed in farm labor, factory labor, servant occupations, and “other labor” occupations. In 2020, the largest category remained “low-skilled work,” in farms, factories, in low-wage service and care occupations, and in on-demand gig and warehousing jobs. Although government regulation, labor activity, voluntary decisions from employers led to some improvements from the 1940s to the 1970s, low wages, dangerous conditions, perception of low-value, and overrepresentation of people-of-color have persisted for workers in these jobs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of these jobs had a new label: “essential.” Workers risked their lives to keep the economy running—in grocery stores, meat packing plants, transportation, and elder care. If “unskilled” work is also “essential” work, how should we think about work, workers, and pay for jobs that have historically been categorized as “unskilled”?