Is that true? I feel like the drumbeat I constantly have heard for the last 10 years is that the trades pay really well and are easier to get into. Most of the electricians I know are definitely not "lower class". That said, they're harder jobs physically. They're not particularly good for your body a lot of the time.
There are more levels to class than 'aristocracy'. A lot of it is just perception and known rules, and so the fact you know to compare a clerk and a workman means you already know there's a perceived or known difference in status.
