Mike Rowe says AI isn’t the real threat as a fading ‘will to work’ continues to reshape America's workforce

Mike Rowe says AI isn’t the real threat as a fading ‘will to work’ continues to reshape America's workforce

Vishesh Raisinghani

5 min read

As AI threatens to automate millions of white-collar roles, concerns about job-ready skills are louder than ever. But Mike Rowe, CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, warns that the real crisis isn’t technological, it’s human.

“The skills gap is real, but the will gap is also real,” the 63-year-old former host of Dirty Jobs said in an interview with Fox Business (1). He points to roughly 6.8 million “able-bodied men” who aren’t working and aren’t even trying to find jobs. “That’s never happened in peacetime.”

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Rowe argues that America’s famous work ethic is fading just as AI is transforming the job market, and new data shows why that timing matters.

Are men abandoning the workforce?

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that women’s participation in the workforce has stayed stable since the early 1990s (2). Men’s participation, however, has declined, dropping from 86.6% in 1948 to 68% in 2024.

In parallel, a report from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) finds prime-working-age men (ages of 25 to 54) have seen their participation rate shrink from 98% in September 1954 to 89% in January 2024.

About 28% of these men said they were not working by choice, a stat that seems to validate Rowe’s concern that the will to work is fading. But a deeper look at the data suggests a more complex picture: 57% cite mental or physical health issues as barriers to working or job-seeking, raising doubts about how many are truly “able-bodied.”

Another 47% point to a lack of training, outdated skills or weak work history as major obstacles.

More trades work, less white collar security

Rowe recently sounded the alarm about a shifting labor market now accelerated by automation and artificial intelligence (3). He warned there is a “clear and present freakout” among business leaders and policymakers as white-collar jobs shrink and the demand for blue-collar skilled trades rises.

“We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code. Well, AI is coming for the coders,” Rowe told the crowd at the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University. “It’s not coming for the welders. It’s not coming for the plumbers. It’s not coming for the steamfitters, or the pipefitters, or the HVAC. It’s not coming for the electricians.”

He added that there is a “pinch point” in the economy: white-collar workers losing jobs even as companies struggle to find pipefitters, HVAC technicians and other skilled trades.

There’s a growing concern from governors and corporate leaders in industries as demands grow in energy, construction, infrastructure and other fields where automation alone won’t fill the gap.

The shift underscores another side of the crisis beyond a lack of will. And it bolsters the argument that for many men who have opted out of the workforce, training might offer a viable path forward.

Expanding access to skills training could help draw more men into the workforce, especially those who cited outdated skills or a poor work history as their obstacles.

Through his foundation, Rowe has awarded $8.5 million in scholarships since 2008, supporting more than 1,800 men and women enrolled in skilled trades programs across the country.

“My goal with mikeroweWORKS is not to help the maximum number of people,” he told Fox Business. “It is to help a number of people who comport with our view of the world and are willing to go to where the work is; who are willing to demonstrate something that looks a lot like work ethic here in 2025.”

The foundation’s efforts align with policy proposals from the Bipartisan Policy Center, which advocates expanding financial aid (such as Pell Grants) to make trades training more accessible. As of 2024, about 34% of undergraduate students receive a Pell Grant, according to the Education Data Initiative (4).

But skills training is only part of the solution. For many men who cite mental or physical health challenges or who left the workforce due to instability, improving workplace support may be just as important. According to the BPC survey, more than half of prime-age unemployed men said health insurance, along with benefits such as paid sick leave, disability accommodations, flexible scheduling and medical leave, would influence whether they return to work.

Approximately 40% called mental health benefits “very important,” and 28% said they might have stayed with their last employer if paid medical leave had been available.

While these fixes will not be cheap and will require structural changes, combining expanded training with stronger social supports helps repair America’s fraying labor supply, especially as demand shifts toward skilled trades and other jobs that are less likely to be automated.

A 2023 study by the Center for American Progress suggests that increasing workforce participation, particularly among men, could produce significant economic benefits, from stronger growth to lower inflation (5). In light of growing labor demand in trades and diminishing white-collar security, the stakes have never been higher.