Paul Krugman: Missing-A Massive "Skills Gap"

Claims that there is a huge "skills gap" in the United States - that much of our unemployment is structural, reflecting an inadequately prepared work force or something like that - generally rest on claims that there is an unusual situation in which many jobs are vacant even as many workers remain unemployed.

For example, at the beginning of this year Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, wrote an article in Politico with Marlene Seltzer about the alleged skills gap that began, "today, nearly 11 million Americans are unemployed. Yet, at the same time, 4 million jobs sit unfilled. This is the 'skills gap' - the gulf between the skills job seekers currently have and the skills employers need to fill their open positions."