We have found ourselves in a time where the majority of young people out of college are pursuing white-collar jobs after graduation. This is putting employers in a difficult situation, and we haven’t quite seen it like this before.

As a country, we are having difficulty overcoming a shortage of blue-collar workers. Food service and hospitality struggle to retain workers, jobs are going unfilled, with no signs of an improving situation this year.

“These industries have more unfilled job openings than unemployed workers with experience in their respective industry,” according to new research from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

So what happened during the pandemic to make it this way?

The pandemic caused a huge disruption in the U.S. labor force. In 2022 alone, more than 50 million workers quit their jobs. Many of these workers noted that they were in search of: improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, and a strong company culture.

However, when taking a closer look at what has happened to the labor force, it can be better described as ‘The Great Reshuffle’ because hiring rates have outpaced quit rates since November of 2020. So, many workers are quitting their jobs—but many are getting re-hired elsewhere.
Here are a few quick tips to help your company recruit and retain blue-collar workers in the days ahead:

Start Recruiting Through Career Fairs

If you can catch students before they decide to go to college for a specific major, then you can get them excited about a career in your industry. Show them the parts of the job that go unnoticed and it helps for them to know they have lots of options.

Post The Position on the Right Websites

Blue collar workers tend to switch LinkedIn job searching for Indeed or even Craigslist. Make sure if you’re hiring for a blue collar position, that you aren’t making the mistake of looking for your people in the wrong places.

Start a Referral Program

A current employee can help you fill positions and is one of the best tools for hiring! Starting a referral bonus program can help improve both your current employees situation as well as your prospective employee.