This exploratory analysis documents and examines the differences in the information processing skill proficiencies (low, middle, high) of Black adults in the U.S. (ages 16-74) by key socioeconomic and related demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education level, employment, health). Illuminating bridges and barriers (factors of success)…

Today's workplace is going through tremendous changes and becoming highly complex in terms of technology and tasks. Thus, critical problem-solving skills are key to creating a sustainable career in today's global economy. Indeed, the global COVID-19 epidemic has amplified the need for these skills in almost all occupations. This study examined the…

In this paper, the second in the "Impact of Human Capital in the American Labor Market" series, the authors reveal that there are large groups of college graduates who lose out on the seemingly automatic earnings premium from their degree, and that their failure is related to a lack of skills. One of every five bachelor's degree holders…

Background: In Germany, three large-scale surveys--the Level One Study (LEO), the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), and the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS)--provide complementary data on adults' literacy skills that can be harnessed to study adults with low literacy. To ensure that research on…

Policymakers are increasingly concerned that employees need both foundational skills, such as numeracy, and soft skills to take better advantage of new technologies and adapt to changing work. In this study, we examined the relationships between the use of soft skills and occupational outcomes among a nationally representative sample of adult…