Low-skilled jobs have not disappeared, they have changed

In the 1960s, everyone thought that “low-skilled” jobs would gradually disappear. This was not the case. They still exist, they have simply transformed (according to a study by the Center for Studies and Research on Qualifications).

Predicting the evolution of the labor market is a complicated exercise. 60 years ago, the prevailing scenario was that everyone was going to move up in qualifications, and that low-skilled professions were doomed to disappear. This is what Josiane Vero, economist at the Center for Studies and Research on Qualifications (Céreq), recalls.

But things did not happen that way. In a study recently published, Céreq notes that the share of low-skilled professions – occupied by young people leaving training – remained generally stable between 2001 and 2020.

Today, 5 million employees hold a job meeting this classification, or 1 in 6 jobs. On the other hand, these professions have changed.

In the 1960s, these professions were mainly occupied by men, workers, in industrial companies which have since experienced automation, deindustrialization and outsourcing.

Today, low-skilled professions are mainly occupied by women, young people and immigrants, mainly in the service sector. They are home help, maintenance agent, catering and logistics employee, delivery person, cashier, mover, construction worker.

This redeployment was accompanied by a deterioration in working conditions. Today’s low-skilled jobs are significantly more precarious than those of the past, with short contracts, part-time work, unemployment and low wages. According to Josiane Véro, the culture of collective bargaining is less strong in services than in industry and there are fewer unions. She also highlights that the share of low-skilled jobs now represents 22% of first jobs.

More and more young graduates (sometimes even highly qualified) are occupying these positions, due to their inability to find a place that corresponds to their level of qualification.

These professions remain considered “executive”, even though this is not the reality. The necessary skills – autonomy, versatility, manual skill and technical precision – are often invisible, according to the Céreq economist. This has just published, with a group of researchers, a work on preconceived ideas around low-skilled jobs.

Among other pitfalls, employees who occupy these jobs have significantly less access to training. While they are the ones who most express a desire to improve their qualifications or retrain.