Filling the Gap

Gaps are often associated with inefficiencies.  Take the possible space between your front door and sill for instance; it lets cold air in during the winter, not an efficient method of insulating.  Similar breaks in continuity between tiles and tubs allow water to seep into parts of a structure not designed for moisture.  When they occur in everyday scenarios, it is best to approach them early, so the deficiency doesn’t devolve into something more problematic.  When gaps occur in labor markets, they have probably been a long time in the making and won’t be solved easily but should be addressed.

Technology is changing work everywhere.  Even entry-level jobs are requiring basic computer skills more frequently these days.  Those without rudimentary technology skills are falling behind.  We can see this in labor participation figures.  When separated into educational attainment categories, a pronounced difference in the ratio of labor market participants emerges.  As of September 2017, our nation’s participation rate remains near generational lows, 63.1 percent.  However, a deeper dive into this figure demonstrates a gap.  Only 46.3 percent of Americans 25 years and older who did not finish high school consider themselves part of the workforce.  For folks with a diploma, the tally increases to 57.4 percent.  Only those with at least some college (66.1 percent) and those having graduated college (74.2 percent) participate more than average.

America could be reaching a skills crisis.  Data from the first quarter of this year put out by the National Federation of Independent Businesses indicate 45 percent of small businesses are unable to find qualified applicants to fill job openings.  As of August of this year, there were 6.1 million job openings, dwarfing the peak from the prior expansion of 4.8 million.  According to the Pew Research Center, "Internationally, U.S. stands in the middle of the pack on science, math, reading scores."   This suggests that traditional forms of education may not be sufficient to teach our future labor force the technological tasks tomorrow's jobs market may require.  Furthermore, there seems to be inadequate training available to those beyond their high school years needing to develop new skills.  Unless this issue is addressed vigorously, our nation’s slow productivity growth, income inequality, and wealth imbalance may only worsen.