We have a dearth of skilled workers. Everyone has known that wages for unskilled labor would go down over time for decades. What people were predicting re: shifts in the labor market hasn't happened, and I do think that a large part of this has to do with culture (blue collar workers are looked down upon) and another part has to do with the U.S. not doing enough to encourage people to go into these fields. For instance, Germany's programs to train their unemployed population in skilled labor is ridiculously effective.