[bronbron]

> Working in an Amazon warehouse is a pretty average blue-collar job these days.

Eek, I hope not. That doesn't bode well for blue-collar work in America. Working at an amazon warehouse will net you roughly $13/hr according to Glassdoor, which will put you roughly $10k above the poverty line.

Unfortunately, outside of skilled trades, blue-collar work in America is slowly disappearing and being replaced with jobs like this. I had a really rough time surviving on $13/hr in college (granted I wasn't working full time), raising a family on that seems damn near impossible.

[vidarh]

Median household income in 2013 in the US was $51,939.

For 40 hours a week, 48 weeks a year at $13, your salary would be ca. $25k. A household with two working adults at that kind of salary would fit pretty close to the median.

[bronbron]

Yep! Not a cushy job by itself, by any means. Certainly requires two people working full time, all the time. This is in contrast to 30 years ago, where one working spouse was sufficient, though perhaps not comfortable.

This isn't even to mention the costs you're incurring by requiring two working spouses: now childcare becomes a recurring cost, maternity leave needs to be short (or non-existent in the case of paternity leave).

Doesn't bode well for blue-collar jobs if warehouse work is the average blue-collar job.

Compare this to what I would consider the remaining true "blue-collar" jobs - skilled trades. The median salary is roughly e.g. $52K for a plumber. That household could absorb the cost of only having one working spouse temporarily (or permanently) - the warehouse family really can't.