Education and Low-Income Working Families
One key factor affecting the economic success of low-income working families is that America’s education and skills development systems continue to poorly prepare workers for jobs requiring higher skills. As noted in the bar graph below, low-income working families are poorly positioned to succeed in today’s skills-driven economy. A major challenge moving ahead will be to raise the education level and skills of America’s workers to meet the needs of the changing economy.
Almost one-half of all job openings require more than a high school education,7 yet as noted in the Report of the National Commission on Adult Literacy, 88 million adult workers are not prepared for these positions.8
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Furthermore, 25 million of these workers do not have a high school degree or its equivalent.
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At the same time, combined federal and state government resources for adult education programs serve approximately 2.5 million participants annually, only one-tenth of the need.
Experience shows that public policies that promote education and skills development along with quality jobs, health care and family leave are effective ways to foster family economic mobility and security.
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