{"id":7057919,"date":"2026-09-05T23:13:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T23:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/voters-define-working-class-by-workforce-participation-economic-situation-and-job-type-not-education\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T23:13:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T23:13:31","slug":"voters-define-working-class-by-workforce-participation-economic-situation-and-job-type-not-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7057919","title":{"rendered":"Voters Define ‘Working Class’ by Workforce Participation, Economic Situation, and Job Type \u2014 Not Education"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cWorking class\u201d is a nebulous term in American politics, a subjective label<\/span><\/a> often defined<\/span><\/a> by academics and pollsters as people without a college degree.<\/p>\n

Understanding voters with and without a college degree provides a useful binary for understanding American politics and the way education and social environments shape political views. But it is not a perfect substitute for understanding the \u201cworking class\u201d in today\u2019s economy \u2014 the percentage of degree-holders in the workforce has grown<\/span><\/a> from 18% to 42% since 1980, while the pay advantage associated with a college degree has declined since 2015. Roughly a third of college graduates, and 42% of recent graduates, are underemployed<\/span><\/a>, meaning they are working in jobs that typically do not require a college degree.<\/p>\n

At the same time, a \u201cgood life\u201d in the U.S. costs more<\/span><\/a> to buy today, while wages have largely stagnated<\/span><\/a> for middle- and low-income workers.<\/p>\n

New polling<\/span><\/a> from Data for Progress finds that voters do not typically define \u201cworking class\u201d along educational lines. Instead, voters are more reliant on someone\u2019s level of workforce participation, economic situation, and job type when determining whether or not someone is working class.<\/p>\n

In an open-ended question, voters were asked: \u201cIn your own words, what does being working class mean to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The majority of the responses fall into three categories: someone\u2019s level of workforce participation, their type of employment, and their income or salary.<\/p>\n

The most common response describes someone\u2019s participation in the workforce, like whether they work for a living, whether they need to work to survive, or whether they earn money from their labor instead of their capital, generational wealth, or government assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roughly a quarter of respondents cite income levels or someone\u2019s financial circumstance as an indicator of \u201cworking class\u201d status, including working paycheck to paycheck or having an income below a certain threshold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Respondents are not united in whether \u201cworking class\u201d better describes someone at low or middle income. While 11% of respondents say being \u201cworking class\u201d is an indicator of low income or struggle, about 7% say being \u201cworking class\u201d describes someone in the middle class or someone whose job provides stability.<\/p>\n

Additionally, about 14% describe someone\u2019s type of employment as an indication of whether they are \u201cworking class.\u201d Respondents in this category most commonly mention blue-collar, manual labor, or service work, but some respondents also mention full-time employment or non-managerial work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n