Less-Educated Americans Continue to Struggle

By Steven A. Camarota on December 9, 2014

Although there has been significant job growth this year, the share of less-educated Americans holding a job continues to be well below what it was in 2007 or 2000. Data from the third quarter of this year still show that less-educated natives are struggling in the labor market. This is particularly true for less-educated minorities. If we look at the share of native-born Americans 18 to 65 with no more than a high school education or those natives with less than a bachelor's degree, the share working remains at or near historic lows. Thus it is hard to find any evidence of a shortage of less-educated labor.