This document, which is based on data gathered during the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), examines the literacy skills of the U.S. civilian labor force, including the employed and unemployed. The following topics are among those discussed: (1) human resources and the U.S. economy; (2) literacy proficiencies of the nation's labor force; (3) literacy proficiencies of key demographic, socioeconomic, and regional subgroups of the labor force (men and women; various age, racial, and ethnic groups; adults with different levels of schooling, poverty status, and areas of residence; native versus foreign-born adults); (4) literacy proficiencies of the labor force by industry and occupations (including front-line blue-collar workers and health care workers); (5) literacy proficiencies and earnings; (6) literacy proficiencies and adults' educational attainments, school enrollment behavior, and literacy training experiences; (7) employability and earnings potential of the nation's unutilized and underutilized working-age population; (8) estimated effects of prose, document, and quantitative literacy proficiencies on labor market activities, earnings and incomes (as demonstrated by a multivariate analysis); and (9) participation in basic skills training programs. A total of 150 tables/figures are included. Appendices contain guidelines for interpreting the literacy scales, an overview of procedures used in the NALS, and a list of participants in the development process. (MN)