This issue of the Adult Skills in Focus series looks at gender differences in reading (literacy) and mathematics (numeracy) skills, and in particular how these differences evolve as people grow up. The analysis use data on three different...

Across the OECD, the labour-market performance of foreign-born-adults tends to lag behind that of the native-born. Immigrants are not only more likely to be unemployed or inactive, but they also earn less and work in lower-skilled jobs. Differences...

Lifelong learning is especially important for immigrants, who are often at a disadvantage in terms of the languages and skills that are valued in the labour market of their host country. Yet foreign-born adults are less likely to participate in...

Log files from computer-based assessment can help better understand respondents’ behaviours and cognitive strategies. Analysis of timing information from PIAAC reveals large differences in the time participants take to answer assessment items, as...

The results of the Adult Skills Assessment confirm that there is a strong link between the level of literacy proficiency and the rate of teenage motherhood. Countries where this link is strongest could further encourage the prevention of and support...

The results of the Survey of Adult Skills confirm that there is a strong link between the level of numeracy performance and the use of these skills in practice. In view of these findings, countries could further encourage the teaching of...

Between 2012 and 2022, the literacy proficiency of the working-age population in the countries that took part in the Survey of Adult Skills is set to improve, mainly driven by the relatively low proficiency of the cohorts who will reach 65 between...

Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) confirm that mastery of the host country’s language is essential if immigrants are to integrate successfully into their new communities and into the host country’s labour market. Given these findings,...

The striking cross-national variation in socio-economic disparities in skills gaps among 15-year-olds, and the evolution of these gaps between the ages of 15 and 27, raises the question of what policies and institutional arrangements may explain such...

Highly-educated and highly-skilled individuals are more likely to report better health than the less-educated and less-skilled, even when comparing individuals with similar background characteristics. The difference in self-reported health that is...

The Survey of Adult Skills finds that adults aged 55 to 65 are less proficient in literacy and numeracy than adults aged 25 to 34. But differences in skills proficiency that are related to age vary widely across countries, implying that skills...

The Survey of Adult Skills finds that even adults with the lowest proficiency in literacy possess some basic reading skills, although the level of these skills varies considerably across countries. Basic reading skills are revealed in both the...

Having the highest levels of skills in problem solving using ICT (information and communication technologies) increases chances of participating in the labour force by six percentage points compared with adults who have the lowest levels of these...