PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

America’s Skills Gap: Why it’s Real, And Why it Matters

  • March 20, 2019
  • Ryan Craig
Download PDF

A common view among the left is that the “skills gap” – a shortage of workers with the skills employers want – is a mirage.

A new PPI report decisively debunks this myth. As author Ryan Craig explains, the skills gap is real: employers are having trouble finding enough workers with digital skills and “soft skills.”

Craig attributes these shortages to two factors: “Education friction” – the failure of higher education institutions to turn out job-ready graduates — and “hiring friction” – digital screening practices that cause employers to overlook qualified workers.

Craig offers a fresh take on why skills gaps persist, the consequences for economic growth and what he calls “economic alienation” among workers feeling left behind in today’s economy.

Related Work

Op-Ed  |  June 19, 2025

Ainsley for the New York Times: A Progressive Future Depends on National Identity

  • Claire Ainsley
In the News  |  June 13, 2025

Ainsley on ABC Radio National: Lessons for Global Centre-Left Parties from Labor’s Win

  • Claire Ainsley
Op-Ed  |  June 13, 2025

Marshall for The Hill: Factory Jobs Aren’t the Future Working Americans Want

  • Will Marshall
In the News  |  June 12, 2025

Marshall in Politico: ‘It’s a winner for him’: Dems work to turn LA debate from immigration to Trump’s executive powers

  • Will Marshall
In the News  |  June 12, 2025

Ainsley on The Spectator’s Coffee House Shots Podcast: Is Rachel Reeves’s Headroom Shrinking?

  • Claire Ainsley
Op-Ed  |  May 28, 2025

Ryan for Newsweek: Trump Policies Hurt Workers in America’s Heartland. Democrats Have to Say So

  • Tim Ryan
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2025 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings