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Five years ago, Spec on The Job adopted the motto: “Helping our clients get jobs done since 1998.” Chief of Operations Jason Lamonica, who started with spec ten years ago, has seen significant growth since the company’s inception from a small staffing office in Fairfield, Connecticut. Spec was originally started to focus on staffing skilled tradespeople and construction workers.
Over the following years, increasing demand for employment services in logistics caused Lamonica to expand Spec’s services to include staffing for truck drivers and other transportation professionals, as well as warehouse professionals and workers in the light industrial space. Since then, the company’s rapid expansion has spread to a larger footprint across the United States.
“For over 20 years, our mission has been to change people’s lives by connecting great employees with great companies,” says Lamonica. “We have been doing this work for a long time, and today, we are proud to be the premiere staffing company serving blue-collar industries.”
Opportunities in blue-collar work are on the rise
Recently, Spec on the Job has seen increasing interest in its services. According to the Michigan Journal of Economics, several factors are driving a massive surge in the growth of blue-collar work. Most of the pre-pandemic workforce chased white-collar status, but a lot has changed throughout the last three years. When the Federal Reserve slashed short-term interest rates in 2020, a glut of loans spurred construction and home renovation. At the same time, a spike in online shopping and last-mile home delivery spurred growth in the transportation and warehouse industries.
In addition to these factors, an attraction to the freedom of the new gig economy caused droves of workers to leave permanent jobs and salaries in favor of short-term contracts and freelance opportunities. A report indicates that 59 million Americans — approximately 36% of the workforce — participated in the gig economy to some extent during the first year of the pandemic. While lockdowns are now over, the gig economy employing blue-collar workers in construction, delivery, transportation, and so many other fields is not. The same report predicts that 52% of the US workforce will take part in the gig economy before the end of 2023.
“Today’s blue-collar gig economy is claiming a larger slice of the global market,” Lamonica observes. “At Spec on the Job, we are keeping up with changing trends and enabling clients to implement the flexible work models that so many people want.”
Spec on the Job sees blue-collar work gaining new appeal
A large part of the growth in blue-collar industries is due to the increasing allure surrounding the freedom and flexibility of the work. For nearly a quarter-century, Spec on the Job has delivered workforce solutions in blue-collar industries; today, the company sees a change in public sentiment.
“Generations have chased the American dream by studying for years at college, accumulating massive school debt, and working most of their lives to pay those loans back,” observes Lamonica. “Today’s generation is making an entirely new choice. They are abandoning the corporate ladder, cubicles, and computer screens in favor of blue-collar jobs that offer them freedom and a healthier work/life balance.”
Blue-collar work is indeed booming. Generation Z and Millennials now know that these jobs have the potential to offer better pay than positions traditionally requiring college degrees. In fact, they are finding many of the highest-paying jobs in the United States today are those in construction and transportation. Adding to this point is that the Department of Labor projected growth in the carpentry sector at approximately 24% through 2022 and reported that skilled tradesmen in this field could expect average yearly earnings of $90,000.
Today, the wages of blue-collar jobs compete with white-collar salaries, but shifting perspectives are not all about money. Lamonica says Spec on the Job sees people coming to blue-collar work primarily for added freedom and stability.
“Long workdays push doctors and lawyers to the breaking point, and teachers are expected to take home grading and planning each weekend,” he remarks. “On the other hand, blue-collar jobs compensate people with overtime and extra pay when they work outside business hours. And while marketing and accounting jobs are on the chopping block thanks to overseas virtual assistants, skilled trade workers like plumbers and electricians are not likely to be outsourced or downsized. They are needed on-site, and their work will always be in demand.”
Work/life balance is the holy grail of today’s workforce, and people are finding it in the blue-collar space. Today’s employees want different things than they did a decade ago.
“The people we staff come to us in search of freedom and flexibility,” concludes Lamonica. “Rather than looking for prestige in the rat race, they are seeking the fulfillment of doing something substantial with their hands. They want to leave work at work and engage with friends and family. For nearly 25 years, we have partnered with trucking, construction, and light industrial companies to deliver workforce solutions and help the right people find the right jobs. No one has more experience in quality blue-collar staffing. Today, we are large enough to fill all of our clients’ hiring needs but still small enough to care deeply about satisfying each of the clients and job seekers who come to us.”
