32M Americans Cannot Read

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oi-Staff

By Staff

Saturday, January 17, 2009, 12:17

A study revealed that 14 percent of U.S. adults can't read. The shocking news revealed that 32 million U.S. adults lack basic prose literacy skill and are illiterate. This makes them unable to read a newspaper or instructions in a bottle.

"The crisis of adult literacy is getting worse, and investment in education and support programs is critical," Live Science quoted said David C. Harvey, president and CEO of ProLiteracy, in response to the finding, as saying.

This situation latest surveyed in 2003, is critical in jobs and economy as said by Harvey. "More than 1 million people lost their jobs in 2008 and the new unemployment figures are the highest in 16 years," Harvey said.

"A large number of the unemployed are low-skilled individuals who struggle with everyday reading, writing and math tasks. The administration wants to create new jobs with the stimulus packages, but to take advantage of those new positions, these adults need basic literacy skills," Harvey added. AGENCIES