Literacy in the Labor Force: Results from the National Adult Literacy Survey

This report analyzes the literacy proficiencies of the nation's civilian labor force, as well as the employed and unemployed, and selected demographic and socioeconomic subgroups of employed civilians. It also compares literacy skills found in major occupations and industries, and analyzes the relationship between literacy proficiencies and wages. The basis for the findings reported here is data taken from the National Adult Literacy Survey. The staff for this 1992 survey interviewed nearly 13,600 individuals aged 16 and older throughout the nation, as well as adults 16 to 65 years old in each of eleven states that chose to participate in a special study designed to provide state-level results comparable to the national data. This 1992 survey measured literacy using performance across a wide array of tasks that reflect the types of reading materials and literacy demands that adults encounter in their daily lives.

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