The working class, defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, “of, relating to, deriving from, or suitable to the class of wage earners,” is comprised of Americans in the lower and lower-middle classes. Americans in the lower class make up about twenty-nine percent of the nation, while the middle class consists of about fifty-one percent. The distinction between the working class and middle class can be complex. Some middle class workers are part of the working class, but not everyone in the working class is part of the middle class. For example, in 1996, the U.S. Department of Labor published that 15.4 million Americans were employed in the sales industry. Within that 15.4 million, 4.5 million are supervisors and owners and belong in the middle class. Additionally, of that 15.4 million, 2.9 million are retail cashiers, who are in the working class. Another 4.9 million are sales workers, sales assistants, and personal service workers, who are also in the working class. Included in the broad parameters of the “sales” category are stock traders and real estate agents, who, having enough authority and independence, are counted in the middle class. Therefore, out of the 15.4 million working in sales, 6.8 million are in the working class, and 8.6 million are in the middle class (Zweig, 28). But this 6.8 million does not accurately reflect the entire working class.
