State of the U.S. Workforce Focus on Numeracy 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

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24% of U.S. adults working full time scored at level 1 or below in numeracy. Another 33% scored no higher than level 2, for a total of 57% of fulltime workers with low skills in numeracy. For those who are unemployed or working part-time the percentage with low skills is even higher. 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 toward more analytic and interpersonal tasks in occupations. 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 the change in occupations. 7

In addition to these broad economic changes, a greater percentage of U.S. workers in semiskilled and unskilled occupations are low performers in numeracy, compared with similar workers across participating countries. 8

Where are U.S. adults with low skills in numeracy working? 9

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

U.S. industries with the highest percentage of workers with low skills in numeracy include: construction, administrative, transportation, hospitality/food service, and retail. Manufacturing is not far behind. 11

What proportion of low skilled workers are Black and Hispanic?

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

A higher proportion of Hispanic and Black year olds score at the lowest levels of proficiency in numeracy. 14

This is of particular concern when we consider the changing racial/ethnic demographics of the U.S. 15

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

17 Among employed U.S. adults, those who are low-skilled in numeracy are more likely to be foreign born than native born.

How does skill level effect use of skills at work?

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

What is the impact of skill level on income?

21 Low-skilled adults in numeracy are more likely to have earnings in the lower income quintiles than adults with high levels of skills.

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

23

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

25 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 numeracy than those who did not participate.

Only 20% of year olds who participated in non- formal education scored at the two lowest levels of numeracy skills. 26

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

28 U.S. working adults who scored higher in numeracy were more likely to participate in non-formal education that was mainly job-related.

Barriers to participation in nonformal education identified by working adults. 29

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 Distribution of numeracy proficiency levels of U.S. working adults by whether employer or prospective employer paid for expenses related to their participation in formal education.

32 Distribution of numeracy proficiency levels of U.S. working adults by whether employer or prospective employer paid for expenses related to their participation in non-formal education.

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