Comparison of early labor market experiences of two British cohorts born in 1958 and 1970 shows that, among the younger group, those without academic qualifications had consistently higher unemployment rates than their older counterparts who similarly lacked basic skills. Key requirements for employability have demonstrably increased over time.…

The relationship between literacy, numeracy, and employability was examined by analyzing data on basic skills that were collected in two of Great Britain's birth cohort studies--the National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study. The functional literacy and numeracy skills of samples of 10% of the participants in each study…