Over the past decades, the labor force in many nations has encountered drastic changes. An example can be drawn from the U.S. that has experienced a significant decline in the blue-collar jobs. The blue-collar work facilitated the employment of people with minimal skills and education. They worked in the manufacturing industries and earned a meager but honest living. However, with the onset of technology and globalization, the employment opportunities for the low-skilled laborers have reduced leaving many without sources of income. This essay looks at the changing patterns of labor from blue-collar to white-collar jobs and their effects.
Recent statistics have revealed considerable reductions in employment, income, worker’s benefits, and unionization in various regions. The transformation and disruptions emerge from the shifting labor patterns from manufacturing systems to professional settings. The changes limit job opportunities for those with little education and expert skills. The lack of employment has made people turn to illegal ways of seeking income such as selling drugs and theft. El Bario in New York is one of the regions that can attest to the prevalence of criminal activities due to unemployment (Bourgois Lecture, n.d).
Had the business-minded youngsters not been limited to the weakest area of manufacturing in an era of rapid loss of jobs, their working-class dreams would have been fulfilled. However, their aspirations are difficult to realize in a capitalistic industry or economy that is focused on generating more revenue. The changes in the employment patterns have introduced cultural disruptions where people of a particular ethnicity are doomed to poor lifestyles while others continue to thrive in the professional sector. Anthropologists reinforce the need for a non-capitalistic society that will focus on generating benefits to all its members (Cronk, n.d). The aspect still appears as a fantasy to individuals all over the globe.
References
Cronk (n.d). Gift Economies.
Bourgois Lecture (n.d). Cultural conflicts accompanying economic decline.
