Vanishing (Disappearing) Middle Class in U.S.A - Essay Example

VANISHING (DISAPPEARING) MIDDLE IN U.S.A America’s economy has been experiencing changes in lifestyle patterns of its people in the recent past. The percentage of those Americans who have long considered themselves as middle class has taken a great change. It has been witnessed that the number of those considering themselves as lower class has risen sharply in a span of just six years. In a similar case, the number of those considering themselves as upper class has shrunk in the recent past, this is according to a research that was conducted a research centre in the USA (Luhby, 2014).

What has caused this worrying trend? According to the research, the shift is being attributed to a fall in wages and job market that is slowly weakening. In a new report that was published by Autor (2010), the work force in the U.S.A is rapidly splitting into two main categories, the high paying jobs and the corresponding low paying jobs. In this regard, it can be noticed that demographics about the middle income earners is missing. The effect of the disappearing middle class is taking a toll on America’s young men who are turning out to be potential employees.

This situation simply means that irrespective of the field which they would want to join, they have to increase their educational levels to secure employment chances. Having high school qualification alone may not be enough to warrant a good job unlike in the past. Despite of the many disadvantages that have been associated with this trend, there is a group of people who seem to have benefited. Advanced degree holders have been having gains in the job opportunities available. This is just for the fact that job opportunities have remained a preserve of the highly educated or the low class.

For this reason, the few that have gained employment in this season have benefitted from the better remunerations associated with the jobs (Wessel, 2011).One of the key culprits for this alarming development is technology. It has been witnessed that knowledge and skills exhibited by the middle class group are fast becoming irrelevant or obsolete with respect to industry needs. The introduction of computer and robot technology has meant that clerical works in companies and assembly line productions can be done by few people who have the required knowledge to run the machines (Price, 2010).

Introduction of computer technology has led to a sharp reduction in the amount of human capital in companies. The jobs that have been left available are only those requiring low education, something that has led to an increase in the low class population. Yeselson (2012) explains that this trend can also be blamed on the deteriorating education system. He says that the system of education in the United States has been unable to produce enough educated and skilled workers who can match the changing technology in industries.

This has caused death to labour movement in the United States and particularly in the private sector. The result has been deprivation of workers and unions the necessary negotiation power for maintaining their relationship between the needed productivity on the job and remuneration. In the end, they have been forced to take low pays for their jobs which are now relegated to low class or face retrenchment, their jobs. The current economy looks very different from that of a few years ago. Credit scoring has replaced underwriters of consumer loans and mortgages leading to a reduction of human labour in the job market.

Music downloads on the other hand have reduced record stores. In the same way the number of book stores is fast reducing with the advent of online libraries. There is an increasing number of online readers which is cutting down on employment in physical libraries and book stores. Data entry has been seen to move off shore as well as outsourcing of customer support services which is being outsourced from oversees (Kling, 2011). ReferencesAutor, D., (2010).The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market;Implications for Employment and Earnings.

Retrieved from Kling, A. (2011). What If Middle-Class Jobs Disappear?. Retrieved form, < http://american.com/archive/2011/november/what-if-middle-class-jobs-disappear> Luhby, T., (2014).Americas disappearing middle class. Retrieved from, < http://economy.money.cnn.com/2014/01/28/middle-class/> Price, A., (2010). The Scary Truth About Americas Disappearing Middle Class. Retrieved from, < http://www.good.is/posts/the-scary-truth-about-america-s-disappearing-middle-class> Wessel, D (2011). Only Advanced-Degree Holders See Wage Gains.

Retrieved from, < http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/09/19/only-advanced-degree-holders-see-wage-gains/?mod=WSJBlog> Yeselson, R., (2012). The Case of the Vanishing Middle Class. Retrieved from;