Michigan students are increasingly being urged to pursue the skilled trades rather than a four-year degree. The pitch is some version of you can do just as well in the trades over a forty-year career as you can with a college degree. Particularly given that you can pursue the trades without taking on student loan debt.
One problem with this story: there aren’t many Michigan blue collar jobs that pay middle income wages and above. Where middle income jobs are defined as pay greater than $60,000, less than $100,00. And high income jobs are defined as pay greater than $100,000.
Without parsing which blue collar occupations are skilled or not, let’s look at the labor market outcomes of those in Michigan blue collar jobs in 2024. The blue collar occupations are: production (blue collar manufacturing jobs); construction and extraction; installation, maintenance and repair; and transportation and material moving.
In 2024 Michigan had 4.39 million payroll jobs. 26 percent (1.15 million) of those jobs were in blue collar occupations: 445,000 in productions; 159,000 in construction and extraction; 180,000 in installation, maintenance and repair; and 368,000 in transportation and material moving.
In 2024 Michigan had 1.68 million jobs that paid middle income wages and above. 19 percent (322,000) of Michigan middle income jobs were in blue collar occupations: 105,000 in production; 80,000 in construction and extraction; 79,000 in installation, maintenance and repair; and 58,000 in transportation and material moving.
In 2024 Michigan had 542,000 jobs that paid high income wages and above. 5 percent (25,000) of Michigan middle income jobs were in blue collar occupations: 4,000 in production; 10,000 in construction and extraction; 9,000 in installation, maintenance and repair; and 2,000 in transportation and material moving.
28 percent of Michigan blue collar jobs paid middle income wages and above (greater than $60,000). 2 percent of Michigan blue collar jobs paid high income wages (greater than $100,000).
By contrast in the ten major occupations with high BA attainment requirements there were 1.08 million middle income and above jobs, 64 percent of all Michigan middle income and above jobs. In the ten major occupations with high BA attainment requirements there were 478,000 high income jobs, 88 percent of all Michigan high income jobs.
So yes there are good-paying jobs and careers in the blue collar trades. But there are many more in professional and managerial occupations. All students should learn about the opportunities in the blue collar trades, just as all students should learn about the opportunities in professional and managerial occupations. Whether a student choses to pursue a blue collar career or a professional and managerial career should be their choice. But that choice should not be biased by inaccurate information about the wages of blue collar jobs and careers compared to professional and managerial jobs and careers.
The data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024.
