Question:
How does the United States compare with other countries in labor force outcomes of education?
Response:
In all reporting Group of Eight (G-8) countries, adults with higher levels of education tended to earn more income than those with a relatively low level of education (i.e., those whose educational attainment was lower secondary education or below). The G-8 countries were selected as a comparison group because of the similarities in their economic development and because the other G-8 countries are among the major economic partners of the United States. Among U.S. 25- to 64-year-olds whose highest level of educational attainment was lower secondary education or below, 16 percent earned more than the country’s median income in 2006. This percentage was lower than in all other reporting G-8 countries, which ranged from 20 percent in the United Kingdom to 38 percent in Germany. Two percent of U.S. 25- to 64-year-olds with this level of education earned more than two times the country’s median income. The corresponding percentages in the other G-8 countries ranged from 2 percent in the United Kingdom and Germany to 7 percent in Italy. In contrast, 42 percent of such U.S. adults earned at or below half of the country’s median income. This percentage was higher than in all other reporting G-8 countries, which ranged from 17 percent in France to 39 percent in the United Kingdom.
Among U.S. 25- to 64-year-olds whose highest level of educational attainment was upper secondary education, 38 percent earned more than the country’s median income in 2006. This percentage was lower than in all other reporting G-8 countries, which ranged from 42 percent in the United Kingdom and Germany to 56 percent in Italy. Italy was the only reporting G-8 country where more than half of adults with this level of education earned more than the country’s median income. Seven percent of U.S. 25- to 64-year-olds with this level of education earned more than two times the country’s median income. The corresponding percentages in the other G-8 countries ranged from 4 percent in Germany to 14 percent in Italy. In contrast, 24 percent of such U.S. adults earned at or below half of the country’s median income; in the other G-8 countries this ranged from 10 percent in Italy to 28 percent in Canada.
Among U.S. 25-to 64-year-olds who had completed academic higher education, 68 percent earned more than the country’s median income in 2006. The corresponding percentages in the other G-8 countries ranged from 66 percent in Canada to 75 percent in the United Kingdom. Twenty-eight percent of U.S. 25- to 64-year-olds with this level of education earned more than two times the country’s median income. The corresponding percentages in the other G-8 countries ranged from 27 percent in France and Germany to 32 percent in Italy. In contrast, 12 percent of such U.S. adults earned at or below half of the country’s median income; in the other G-8 countries this ranged from 7 percent in France to 18 percent in Canada.
| Percentage of the population ages 25 to 64 who earned more than the median income, by highest level of education and country: 2006 | |||
| Reporting G-8 countries | Education level | ||
| Lower secondary and below | Upper secondary education | Academic higher education | |
| Canada (2005) | 30.5 | 44.3 | 66.5 |
| France | 31.6 | 45.1 | 74.1 |
| Germany | 37.9 | 41.7 | 71.3 |
| Italy (2004) | 36.1 | 56.0 | 74.3 |
| United Kingdom1 | 20.0 | 41.6 | 74.5 |
| United States | 15.8 | 37.6 | 67.8 |
1 The United Kingdom includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
NOTE: Education levels are defined according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). Lower secondary level or below includes ISCED levels 0 (preschool and kindergarten in the United States), 1 (grades 1 through 6 in the United States), and 2 (grades 7 through 9 in the United States). Upper secondary education includes ISCED levels 3 (grades 10 through 12 in the United States) and 4 (postsecondary nontertiary programs; 1-year certificate programs in the United States). Academic higher education includes ISCED levels 5A (bachelor's, master's, and first-professional degree in the United States) and 6 (doctoral degree in the United States).
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G-8 Countries: 2009 (NCES 2009-039).
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