Literacy fact sheet : literacy and the workplace.

              Literacy Fact Sheet: Workforce Literacy - Oklahoma Department of Libraries
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Literacy Fact Sheet:
Literacy and the Workplace
The U.S. economy reigned supreme in the 20th century, becoming the
largest, most productive, and most competitive in the world; amazing
new technologies were invented and commercialized; the workforce
became the most educated in the world; and incomes soared while a
large middle class emerged and thrived. As the 21st century
approached, however, alarms began to sound about the U.S.
economy’s ability to remain in this preeminent position.—The
Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 2012
Links Between Education and the Workplace
Addressing the high school dropout crises is a key strategy for economic
growth. Years of research repeatedly highlights the link between education
and the economy. In a time of shrinking state revenues and in the wake of
a national economic crises that profoundly affected those with the least
education (In January, 2011 the unemployment rate among individuals
without a high school diploma was more than three times the rate of those
with a bachelor’s degree or higher) states must view education reform as a
key strategy for strengthening the economy. Improving educational
outcomes creates a wave of economic benefits that including boosting
individual earnings, home and auto sales, job and economic growth,
spending and investment, and tax revenues.—Alliance for Excellent in
Education, 2011
Education drives the economy. America is losing its place as a world leader
in education, and in fact is becoming less educated. Among the 30
Organization for Economic Development (OECD) free market countries, the
U.S. is the only nation where young adults are less educated than the
previous generation. The American economy requires that most workers
have at least some postsecondary education or occupational training to be
ready for current and future jobs in the global marketplace, yet we are
moving further from that goal. By one set of measures, more than 88
million adults have at least one major educational barrier—no high school
diploma, no college, or ESL needs. With the current U.S. labor force of
about 150 million (16 and older), a troubling number of prime working age
adults likely will fall behind in their struggle to get higher wage jobs, or to
qualify for college courses or job training that will help them join or
advance in jobs that pay a family-sustaining wage.—Reach Higher, America
(pdf),National Commission on Adult Literacy, 2008
In 2010, individuals age 25 and older with less than a high school education
earned, on average, $444 per week, as compared to $626 per week for
those with a high school diploma, or $1,038 per week for those with a
Bachelors’ degree. Additionally, those without a high school diplomas had an
average unemployment rate of 14.9% as compared to 5.4% for those with
a Bachelor’s degree.—Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011
According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday, September
13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% (46.2 million) in 2010, up from 14.3%
(approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. The poverty level for 2011
was set at $22,350 (total yearly income) for a family of four.
In 2010, the average annual income for an adult with no high school diploma was $23,088.
Educational attainment also appears to be cushioning workers from the worst impacts of the current
economic crises, with unemployment hovering above 9 percent since 2009 into 2011. A snapshot of
unemployment between August 2010 and August 2011 demonstrates that individuals with a high
school diploma are two times more likely to be unemployed than those with a Bachelor’s degree and