“US Economy to Add 55 Million New Jobs by 2020, But You’ll Need a College Degree”: Wall Street Journal

reports/speculates:

As college costs keep rising and student-loan debt causes national consternation, more Americans are asking whether young people should bother with college.

Here, at least, is one point in favor of higher education: Americans who fail to complete at least some post-secondary education – if not a college degree, then an associate’s degree or some college credit — sabotage their chances of landing a job as the economy continues to recover, according to a new report out Wednesday.

The U.S. economy will generate 55 million job openings by 2020, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, and 65% of those jobs will require some training beyond a high-school education. . . .

As the U.S. has moved from an industrial economy to one based more on knowledge, jobs have demanded greater levels of education. In 1973, according to the Georgetown Center, 72% of jobs required a high-school education or less. In 2010, that figure was 41%, and by 2020, it will have fallen to 36%.

more (I’m still unclear on what counts as “training” and why that’s conflated with “a college degree” here)