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We have a brainpower shortage on the horizon. Consider these facts:
- Among adults (aged 25 and above), roughly 50 million workers (or about 40 percent of the workforce) have no more than a high school diploma, of whom about 12.5 million are high school dropouts.
- According to a recent study by the Conference Board, 64 million workers – or approximately 40 percent of America’s labor force – will be eligible for retirement by 2010.
- Between 1980 and 2000, the share of U.S. workers ages 25 and over with at least some education and training beyond high school increased by 19 percent. Between 2000 and 2020, this percentage is projected to rise by only 4 percent. Because of the mismatch between educational attainment and job growth in the years to come, some experts project that the U.S. economy will be short 14 million workers with at least some college experience by 2020.
- The combination of baby boomers, immigrants, and working women has helped swell our workforce by 1.6 percent a year for the past 50 years, according to the authors of The Jobs Revolution: Changing How America Works. But during the coming 50 years America’s workforce will grow by approximately 0.6 percent annually, about one-third the pace set over the last half-century.
Here is a very good commentary on the impact of the coming shortages. Read more.
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