Does Reading Proficiency at Age 15 Affect Employment Earnings in Young Adulthood? Insights on Canadian Society

Previous research has suggested that skills acquired at a young age, such as reading or math skills, may have an impact on the early labour market outcomes of individuals. In this study, tax data linked to the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are used to examine the association between background factors at age 15 (including reading proficiency) and employment earnings in young adulthood for a cohort of respondents who were aged 15 in 2000. Findings in the report include: (1) In 2000, 51% of women and 38% of men aged 15 had a high level of reading skills. Having a higher skill level is defined as obtaining a Level 4 or higher (out of 5) in reading tests administered through PISA; (2) Young women and men with higher reading proficiency at age 15 earned more than their counterparts with lower reading proficiency, both in the first year after leaving school and in the ensuing years. These results, however, do not take into account the other factors that also affect earnings. (3) After accounting for various individual and background factors (e.g., parental education, parental income, overall marks at age 15 and other characteristics such as highest level of education and field of study), reading proficiency at age 15 was no longer associated with employment earnings after leaving school--for both men and women--even in the first year after leaving school; and (5) For women, reading proficiency acts on career employment earnings primarily through education. This means that women with higher reading proficiency acquire more educational credentials, which--in turn--has an impact on earnings. For men, other background characteristics, such as parental income and marks at age 15, had more of an impact on employment earnings than reading skills