Including Immigrants in Efforts to Upskill U.S. Workers Would Help Meet Employer Needs in a Rapidly Changing Labor Market

WASHINGTON, DC — As the U.S. labor market is reshaped by technological change, aging and declines in fertility and legal immigration, there is a consensus that for the economy to grow with fewer workers, productivity will have to increase and workers will need higher levels of skills and training. In stark contrast with past trends, 80 percent of today’s jobs require more than a high school degree. Yet more than 115 million U.S. adults lacked education or training beyond high school as of 2019, with 21 percent of them immigrants.