State of the U.S. Workforce: Focus on Literacy Skills “…the skill level of the American labor force is not merely slipping in comparison to that of its peers around the world, it has fallen dangerously behind.” --Eduardo Porter, Stubborn Skills Gap in America’s Workforce, New York Times October 8, 2013

Guidelines for building your presentation: Add this slide module to the following slide modules to create the full PIAAC story:  What is PIAAC  Overview of Results (slides 1-11) You can also add:  selections from Sample Tasks  More PIAAC Resources  Education and Skills Online 2

Employment Status of Low-skilled Adults in the U.S.

47% of working adults in the U.S. scored no higher than level 2 in literacy; 16% scored at the two lowest levels. The percentage with low skills in literacy is greater for those working part-time and those who are unemployed. 4

Why does the skill level of our workforce matter? 5

Source: Autor, D. H. and B.M. Price (2013), "The Changing Task Composition of the US Labor Market: An Update of Autor, Levy, and Murnane (2003)", MIT Mimeograph, June. Mean task input in percentiles of 1960 distribution Since 1970, there has been a shift in the U.S. economy away from routine and manual tasks and towards more analytic and interpersonal tasks that require higher skills. 6

Percentage Change in Earnings Since 1961 Tabulations of annual March Current Population Survey Data, by David Ellwood, Harvard University. Tabulations of annual March Current Population Data, by David Ellwood, Harvard University. Slide prepared by ETS. The percentage change in earnings since the 1970s mirrors that shift in occupations. 7

In addition, a greater percentage of U.S. adults working in unskilled and semi-skilled occupations are low performers in literacy, compared with their peers across participating countries. 8

Where are low-skilled adults in the U.S. working? 9

The highest percentage of low-skilled workers are in manual and semi-skilled occupations. 10

Industries with the highest percentage of low- skilled workers include: construction, administrative, transportation, & hospitality. 11

What proportion of low-skilled workers are Black and Hispanic?

Among employed U.S. adults, those who are low skilled in literacy are more likely to be Black or Hispanic. 13

This is of particular concern when we consider the changing racial/ethnic demographics of the U.S. 14

What percentage of low-skilled workers in the U.S. are foreign born?

Am ong employed U.S. adults, those who are low- skilled in literacy are more likely to be foreign born than native born. 16

How does skill level effect the use of skills at work?

U.S. workers who are low-skilled in literacy use their reading skills at work less frequently than those with high literacy skills. 18

U.S. workers who are low-skilled in literacy also use their writing skills at work less frequently than those with high literacy skills. 19

What is the impact of skill level on income?

Low-skilled adults in literacy are more likely to have earnings in the lower income quintiles than adults with higher level skills. 21

40% of low-skilled adults have earnings in the bottom fifth of the income distribution in the U.S., compared to the international average of 36%. 22

Among countries participating in PIAAC, the U.S. has one of the highest wage premiums for skills. 23

There is also a high wage premium for educational attainment in the U.S. 24

What can we do to raise the skills of low-skilled workers in the U.S.?

Participation rates in adult education and training are higher in the U.S. than in most countries. While this is true for adults at all skill levels, low-skilled adults are less likely to participate than those with high skills. 26

What is the relationship between skill level and participation in ongoing formal and non-formal education?

U.S. workers who participated in formal or non-formal education in the year preceding the survey were less likely to be low-skilled in literacy than those who did not participate. 28

U.S. working adults with low skills in literacy participated in fewer hours of non-formal education than those with higher skills in literacy. 29

Barriers to participation in non-formal education identified by working adults. 30

The most common reasons for U.S. working adults not participating in education and training are: too busy at work, cost, family responsibilities including childcare, and time that a course was offered. 31

Employers or prospective employers were more likely to pay for expenses related to participation in formal education for workers with higher skills in literacy. 32

Employers or prospective employers were more likely to pay for expenses related to participation in non- formal education for adults with higher skills in literacy. 33

Modules you can add here: Education and Skills Online More PIAAC Resources