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‘I’m offering $120,000 a year jobs but no one wants them – America’s in trouble’

‘I’m offering $120,000 a year jobs but no one wants them – America’s in trouble’

January 8, 2026

‘I’m offering $120,000 a year jobs but no one wants them – America’s in trouble’

Steve Charnock

Steve Charnock

Published January 8, 2026 2:15pmUpdated January 8, 2026 2:15pm

America has something of a six-figure job problem. Not because the money for the work is bad - far from it. But because hardly anyone wants to do the work to earn the money, apparently. In one specific area, anyway. While office jobs wobble and graduates across the nation panic, one CEO says thousands of hands-on roles are sitting there unfilled, many paying quite a bit more than most desk careers ever will. The catch, however, is patience. These jobs often demand years of training and no small amount of physical effort. And it may be these two factors putting a lot of US workers off… (Picture: Getty Images)

That's the warning coming from Jim Farley, who spoke rather frankly about the issue on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast recently. The boss of Ford says that the USA is currently drifting into a serious skilled labour shortage. Just as demand for trained specialist tradespeople, especially mechanics, keeps climbing. He says Ford alone has around 5,000 open mechanic roles, with top earners able to pull in up to a cool $120,000 a year. That's close to double the average US salary. Yet Farley says that those jobs are proving stubbornly hard to fill. (Picture: Getty Images)

‘We are in trouble in our country,’ Farley warned. ‘We are not talking about this enough. We have over a million openings in critical jobs, emergency services, trucking, factory workers, plumbers, electricians and tradesmen. It’s a very serious thing.’ Across the United States, he says, there's often ‘a bay with a lift and tools and no one to work in it.’ (Picture: Getty Images)

One drawback is how the pay actually works. Many mechanics are on flat-rate systems, meaning that they earn per job rather than per hour. Early on, that can mean long hours for somewhat underwhelming money. The big salaries do exist out there, but they tend to arrive late, once speed, skills and experience catch up. That delay puts off a generation raised on more immediate returns. (Picture: Getty Images)

Ted Hummel shows what happens if you stick at it. The-39 year-old Ohio technician specialises in transmissions, one of the most complex and physically demanding roles connected to car mechanics. He now earns around $160,000 a year, but it took him roughly a decade in the trade before he finally broke the $100,000 mark. (Picture: Getty Images)

‘They always advertised back then, you could make six figures,’ Hummel told the Wall Street Journal. ‘As I was doing it, it was like: "This isn’t happening." It took a long time.’ He joined Klaben Ford Lincoln in 2012 and only crossed that threshold in 2022. (stock image) (Picture: Getty Images)

Now his skills are so valuable that he's rarely without well-paid work. A transmission weighs around 300 pounds and controls how power reaches the wheels. Early in his career, one job could take up to 20 hours while he double-checked manuals to avoid errors. Today, speed and confidence mean the flat-rate system finally pays off for him. (stock image) (Picture: Getty Images)

The road to the destination isn't cheap or without a few bumps, either. Many technicians have to buy their own tools. And that can be a hefty investment upfront. Hummel owns a specialised torque wrench, for example, that costs a whopping $800. It's a tool that Ford requires him to have. The work is also tough on the body. Injuries can mean months out of the bay with no income, quietly pushing many workers to quit long before the big pay days arrive. (stock image) (Picture: Getty Images)

Entry-level pay is solid but hardly glamorous. Ford vacancies show that skilled trade roles start at around $42,000 a year. In southeast Michigan, auto mechanics begin on about $43,260, with increases after three months. Industrial truck mechanics start at roughly $44,435. No college degree is required, but years of experience or apprenticeship usually are. (Picture: Getty Images)

The wider picture is really quite worrying. Forbes estimates that more than 345,000 new skilled jobs in the industry will open up in the US before 2028. For every five trained workers who retire, only two replace them, leaving around a million roles unfilled. Farley says this is about more than just jobs too: ‘We do not have trade schools. We are not investing in educating a next generation of people like my grandfather who had nothing, who built a middle class life and a future for his family.’ He also frames it as a security issue. ‘God forbid we ever get into a real war,’ he said. ‘Google's not going to be able to make the tanks and the planes. So, this is a a self-defence for a country issue too.’ (Picture: Getty Images)

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