Reading skills, labour market and income

The purpose of this study is to examine the connection between reading skills, labour market and income. The study shows that in 2003 more than 2/3 of people with a short education and poor reading skills had an annual gross income of less than 200,000 DKK. This is far below the gross income of people with good reading skills. In general, good reading skills improve the chances of keeping a job – and this applies to people with both short and long educations. For the unemployed good reading skills are apparently not significant for getting a job. However, unemployed people who have an education have a much better chance of getting a job. The analyses are based on a survey of more than 3,000 Danes' reading skills.