Why Gen Z is shying away from cleaning jobs

Jobber recently released its Annual Blue-Collar Report: Gen Z and Jobs Need Each Other. Based on survey responses from 1,000 18-20 year old students in the US, the report offers insight into how Gen Z is navigating their education and career choices, while also offering solutions to inspire and encourage the younger generation to consider taking advantage of all the benefits that blue-collar careers have to offer.

According to the annual Blue Collar Report, 76% of Gen Zers agree that there is a stigma associated with attending a trade school instead of a traditional four-year university — a reality that threatens our families, our economy, and the livelihoods of younger generations.

“If you own a home, you’ve got a problem,” warns Jobber CEO and co-founder Sam Pillar. “While there’s renewed interest among younger generations in pursuing blue-collar careers, there’s still too much work for homeowners to do and not enough workers to do it. We need to do more to show Gen Z what great career opportunities there are and encourage them to consider that path.”

The U.S. housing stock is aging rapidly, with the average home age reaching 40 years. This is a major problem because the U.S. is experiencing labor shortages in most industries due to declining labor force participation rates and an aging and retiring workforce. Moreover, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job demand in trades is often higher than or equal to the 3% average for all occupations, indicating that not only is there a gap, but the gap is widening.

The key findings of the report provide greater insight into why Gen Z is not pursuing blue-collar careers and how society can encourage younger generations to consider them. Despite widespread prejudices and misconceptions about Gen Z, the annual Blue-Collar Report clearly shows that they do in fact want blue-collar careers, they just don’t realize it yet.

“American Dream” needs blue-collar rebranding

Gen Z has been taught to measure success through a white-collar lens, but AI, the economy, and layoffs are changing their thinking. Their concerns about white-collar careers are clear.

• One-third (33%) of Gen Z say white-collar desk jobs are less secure than their parents’ generation.

• 41% of Gen Z agree that the possibility of AI replacing their jobs is making the “American Dream” harder to achieve, and 46% believe they will have fewer future employment opportunities as a result.

• 70% of Gen Zers say they are not optimistic about the future of the economy.

• When asked what could make a trades career more attractive, Gen Z cited things that blue-collar jobs already offer, such as flexible working hours (73%), job security (61%) and overtime pay (58%).

The people who had the biggest influence on Gen Z’s careers are disappointing them

Parents are blue-collar blind, schools deserve a failing grade for blue-collar education, and Hollywood does the dirty work.

• Family (51%) was judged to have the greatest influence on Gen Z and their career choices, by far.

• 61% of Gen Zers say their parents haven’t talked to them about trade school or told them not to think about it.

• Only 17% of Gen Zers said they were educated about the benefits of job training after high school, significantly lower than a bachelor’s degree, community college, military service, or starting a business.

• More than a third (35%) of Gen Z say TV shows and movies have influenced their future careers, and 47% say trade professionals are typically portrayed negatively (e.g., incompetent, unhealthy, unhappy) in TV shows and movies.

We simply need more women in the industry.

While much of the workforce has evolved to match the modern gender division of labor, occupations have yet to achieve this balance.

• Nearly half of Gen Zers (48%) agree that women are not encouraged to pursue trade-related careers from a young age.

• 58% of Gen Z say women face more discrimination in trade occupations compared to other career options, with a majority of women (68%) believing this compared to men (47%).

In addition to survey data and insights, the annual Blue Collar Report also provides testimonials from people like Lexis Czumak-Abreu, a 27-year-old commercial and residential electrician, who attests to the benefits of blue-collar work: “I went to school to study pre-med with the intention of becoming a surgeon, but decided to become an electrician. There are many electricians in my family, including my father. The pay is good, the hours are stable, and I find the work very rewarding.”

Finally, the annual Blue Collar Report offers 10 concrete actions for the public, blue-collar professionals, policymakers, educators and the media to understand the connections between Gen Z’s fears and aspirations and the blue-collar opportunities before them, and to dispel existing harmful stereotypes.

Click here to access the annual Blue Collar Report run by Jobber.