Noble County Literacy

Why do we promote literacy in Noble County? Please read below to find out!

The Need for Literacy in the Workplace

60.5% of applicants with a high school diploma or GED are poorly prepared for a typical entry level manufacturing job.
81% of manufacturers report a moderate to severe shortage of qualified job candidates
36% of companies report that poor reading and writing skills among hourly workers are a problem
Nationally, more than 40% of the labor force has limited literacy skills

Literacy Fights Crime

Youth that are confined to correctional facilities at the median age of 15.5 years read on average at the fourth grade level.
Over 70% of people entering correctional facilities have not completed high school
19% of adult inmates are completely illiterate, 40% are functionally illiterate. Nationally, 4% of Americans are illiterate and 21% are functionally illiterate

Literacy Reduces Poverty

43% of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty
Almost half of mothers on welfare do not have a high school diploma
84% of unemployed fathers and 82% of unemployed mothers lack a high school diploma
By age 4, children who live in poor families will have heard 32 million fewer words than children living in professional families

Literacy Promotes Health

Of the 90 million adults with poor literacy skills in the US, those with poorer reading skills have greater difficulty navigating the health care system and are at risk of experiencing poorer health outcomes
Low literacy is associated with several adverse health outcomes including low health knowledge, increased incidence of chronic illness, poorer intermediate disease markers, and less than optimal use of preventive health services
Poor literacy costs health insurance companies about $73 billion per year. Remedial literacy intervention, mitigating the effects of low literacy, shows promise for improving patient health and receipts of health care services

Noble County Statistics