Literacy Facts

Adult Literacy Is Essential for Economic Growth...

Lack of skills exacts a personal cost beyond calculation. We can,
however, measure the crushing cost of low literacy to our society:

90% of Fortune 1000 companies expressed concern that low literacy
levels were limiting their productivity and profitability.

The May, 2001 issue of Training revealed that "literacy problems cost
U.S. companies $60 billion annually in lost productivity."

According to the National Association of Manufacturers Skills Gap 2001
survey, 80% of manufacturers are experiencing moderate to severe
shortages of qualified job candidates

33% of companies report that poor reading and writing skills among
hourly workers are a problem (Skills Gap 2001)

59 percent of survey respondents said a basic lack of employability skills
(attendance, timeliness, work ethic, etc.) is the most serious deficiency
(Skills Gap 2001)

According to the International Adult Literacy Survey, 52% of high school
graduates lack the skills required to do their jobs adequately

According to the American Management Association, 42% of job
applicants in the manufacturing sector lacked sufficient skills for the job
they sought in 1999

Set these stark statistics against the encouraging fact that increasing
workers' literacy level by one year was found to increase productivity by
an average of 11 percent. We can have the workforce we need if we
invest in adult literacy. (National Institute for Family Literacy)