As unemployment has remained relatively low throughout many developed countries, the focus has turned instead to the creation of ‘good jobs’.  There is a feeling that many of the new jobs are insecure, poorly paid and with few career prospects, and the positive unemployment stats therefore hide a multitude of sins.

New research from the University of Minnesota explores what some ‘good jobs’ might be for low and middle-skill workers across a range of industries.  They focused specifically on healthcare jobs, which are typically on the rise and usually filled by women, and manufacturing jobs, which are more male-dominated, yet on the decline.

The analysis found that there are usually trade-offs between job security and higher wages, and there appear to be clear gender differences across sectors.

The gender divide

The research discovered clear gender segregation across both occupation and industry, which creates an unequal playing field in terms of job quality for low and middle-skilled men and women.  For instance, healthcare was far and away the largest employer of women in this skill range, with 25% of employment, and while it’s still true that low and middle-skilled women in healthcare appear to earn less than their male peers, the sector still provides them with better job quality and stability than other roles for that skill level.

These jobs were not deemed to be ‘good jobs’ for low and middle-skilled men however, but this was largely a psychological issue, as they often have better prospects than those in more traditionally male-dominated sectors, such as construction and manufacturing, or indeed new gig-based fields such as driving.

Indeed, the authors argue that there is often a clear trade off for low and middle-skilled men between high incomes in areas such as manufacturing, or high job stability in areas such as healthcare.  It’s a trade-off that the authors believe is underpinning a fundamental shift in the nature of working-class jobs.

“Health care jobs are the new working-class jobs,” they conclude. “Manufacturing jobs are on the decline, and we need to figure out how we are going to improve the lives and jobs of health care workers without a college degree. The well-being of working-class families depends on it.”