Economists and pollsters in the United States generally define "working class" adults as those lacking a college degree, rather than by occupation or income. Many members of the working class, as defined by academic models, are often identified in the vernacular as being middle-class, there is considerable ambiguity over the term's meaning.

The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in waged or salaried labour, especially in manual-labour occupations and industrial work. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar color ") include blue-collar jobs, some white-collar jobs, and most pink-collar jobs.