The United States’ middle class is still struggling

As Vox’s Ezra Klein noted in an article Monday, America’s middle class is still traveling down a rough road to economic recovery, with incomes in the home at lower levels than the year 2000.

Maybe it’s because some of the middle class just isn't employed. The country’s unemployment rate sits at 6.2 percent, or about 9.7 million people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s latest numbers. And about half of the unemployed have given up even looking for jobs, a recent poll by Express Employment Professionals found earlier this year.

But this comes at a time when there are jobs out there for Americans who have the right kind of training. The Daily Signals’ Stephen Moore reported that Americans have either too much or too little education for the jobs that actually are available.
“American workers with high school or even college degrees just aren’t technically qualified to do the jobs that are open,” Moore wrote. “This is a stunning indictment of our school system at all levels considering that in all parents and taxpayers often invest as much as $200,000 or more in a child’s education. We’re not turning our kids into competent workers.”

Here are the 10 jobs that have availabilities now — based on numbers from The American Job Center — that you may be able to squeeze yourself into with the right kind of experience:

Laborers and freight, stock and material movers
The American Job Center projects there are 92,250 openings for laborers and movers. This would be like working for companies like Atlas, North American and even U-Haul. Getting involved in the moving industry is no easy feat. According to uShip, a moving information company, potential movers need to grab a license from the U.S. Department of Transportation and then get registration in different states.

Registered nurses
There are plenty of openings for nurses. The AJC reported a projected 105,260 positions are available in the nursing field. This may be because there is a nursing shortage in the United States, according to the American Association of College Nurses. Want to become a nurse and help stop the shortage? Education in both undergraduate and graduate fields is necessary to become a registered nurse, the American Nurses Association explained.

Nursing assistants
Not too far off from the registered nurses are the certified nursing assistants (CNA). The Labor Department reported that there are just more than 1.5 million nursing assistants in the United States (with 59,360 openings, according to the AJC). Felix Tarcomnicu of The Huffington Post offered a guide on how people can become a certified registered nurse, which includes not only the educational requirements but also personality traits necessary to be successful.

Child-care workers
When parents and teachers aren’t available, child-care workers are taking care of the kids. Right now, there are 1.3 million child-care jobs out there, according to the Labor Department, with 57,000 openings in the field, AJC reported. Though this is an open job field without much training need — though it does differ from state-to-state — the yearly pay is short of $20,000 and may not be appealing to some middle-class workers.

Accountants
If money’s your thing, an accounting job may be beneficial. Accountants make an average of $63,550 per year, according to the Labor Department, and it only takes a bachelor’s degree to get involved. With 54,420 openings, there’s plenty of room for undergrad survivors to make their way into an accounting firm.

Truck drivers
Traveling the country, eating at some fancy diners and making close to $40,000 doesn’t seem like too bad of a lifestyle. Becoming a truck driver is as easy as grabbing a high school diploma and getting a commercial driver’s license, as well as a degree from a professional truck-driving school, according to the Labor Department. There are more than 46,000 openings for truck driving positions.

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
Working in yards as a landscaper and keeping up with the grounds won’t pay you much — $26,400 on average — but it is a position that requires experience in the business rather than formal degrees, the Labor Department reported. With 42,270 openings, it’s a career field that isn’t too hard to get into.

Police officers and detectives
Police officers make an average of $56,980 a year, and there’s plenty of open positions. There are 24,390 openings, according to the AJC, and that’s especially high given there are 780,000 police officer jobs in the United States, the Labor Department reported. Becoming a police officer or detective does require a high school diploma or college degree, and potential officers have to pass academy testing that requires heavy physical, mental and emotional activity.

Electricians
Electricians are crucial when it comes to dealing with electricity in the home, so the need is always there. Right now, there are 22,460 openings in the field, according to the AJC. And the salary of nearly $50,000 a year makes the prospect of going through a technical school or apprenticeship not too daunting.

Hairdressers or cosmetologists
Want to get paid $22,000 a year without having to graduate from high school or college? Hairdressing and cosmetology might be the field for you. The Labor Department reported that it only takes an award from a cosmetology program — usually ones that are approved from the state — to get into the field, which now boasts 22,060 openings, according to the AJC.

Email: hscribner@deseretdigital.com
Twitter: @herbscribner