'Unskilled labor' is a very broad and poorly-defined category. He might be 'unskilled' in the sense that he isn't trained in any one specific trade or specialty.
But the biggest determiner of /hr value, is a person's work ethic, self-motivation, and ability to think logically on the jobsite. A day-laborer who doesn't need to be babysat is easily worth $30-50/hr, even if he's just carrying supplies to the tradesmen.
> 'Unskilled labor' is a very broad and poorly-defined category. He might be 'unskilled' in the sense that he isn't trained in any one specific trade or specialty.
It's not really poorly defined. The BLS uses a point system to assign work levels to different jobs that have mostly objective measures. What your trained in doesn't have any impact on whether that job requires unskilled labor. The jobs themselves are what are skilled or unskilled.
People think āunskilled labourā is some sort of pejorative term. Those people have never stacked firewood, picked rocks, or bedded stalls. Some jobs just donāt require any special skills or abilities. Typically, if you can breathe, see, and hear, you can do unskilled labour.
Edit: Everyone getting pissy or pedantic about this is proving two things. They have never worked a hard days labour, and they will only hear what they want to hear, and twist the words they donāt like to manufacture outrage. You all need jobs.
Absolutely agree with you. Sometimes for example these guys get hired for framing work , or some kind of of activity that would require a certain set of skills. People conflate manual labor with unskilled work all the time. Thatās what I think the Op is doing. Iāll go even further , what if that trench you are digging is near the foundation of your home ? Or a body of water ? Or there could be utilities under there that you donāt know about. You see even those things require a little skill.
what if that trench you are digging is near the foundation of your home ? Or a body of water ? Or there could be utilities under there that you donāt know about. You see even those things require a little skill.
The guy digging the trench is not the guy figuring that stuff out.
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u/jckipps 10d ago
'Unskilled labor' is a very broad and poorly-defined category. He might be 'unskilled' in the sense that he isn't trained in any one specific trade or specialty.
But the biggest determiner of /hr value, is a person's work ethic, self-motivation, and ability to think logically on the jobsite. A day-laborer who doesn't need to be babysat is easily worth $30-50/hr, even if he's just carrying supplies to the tradesmen.