As a college educator, I understand the appeal of preparing students for work. As an economist, I understand tradeoffs. I also see declining basic skills in reading and math becoming increasingly apparent among entering students at Weber State University. Before Utah tries to predict the jobs children will need 20 years from now, it should make sure they can read today.

Reading is the first workforce policy. Every future job, college program, technical certificate, apprenticeship and act of citizenship depends on literacy. Students who read well can adapt when industries change. Students who cannot read well enter every future pathway with a handicap.

The scale of Utah’s challenge is clear. In January, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released “The Future Is Watching: Understanding Utah’s Early Literacy Landscape.” The report found that only 50.3% of Utah third graders met grade-level reading expectations in 2025. First and second grades were below 50%, and kindergarten was only slightly higher.

If nearly half of Utah’s students are not reading proficiently, in what meaningful sense are they on a path to college and career readiness?

The gaps are worse for many children. Among Utah third graders in 2025, only 35.2% of economically disadvantaged students, 32.2% of Hispanic or Latino students, 24.2% of students with disabilities, and 18% of students with limited English proficiency met grade-level expectations. These are early warnings about opportunity, mobility and the workforce Utah says it wants to build.

The Gardner report also summarizes why this matters beyond the classroom. Students who read proficiently by third grade are more likely to stay on grade level, succeed in later coursework, graduate from high school and enroll in college. Students who do not are four times more likely not to graduate from high school. Adults with higher literacy report stronger outcomes in wages, employment, health, volunteering, trust and civic efficacy.

This is the public-good case for reading. Workforce alignment programs are targeted bets; some will pay off, and many will miss. A “high demand” field today may look very different by the time a first grader reaches college. Given the pace of recent technological change, it may look different by the time they reach second grade. Reading gives students the foundation to adapt to technological and economic change while generating broad benefits far beyond any single occupation, industry or employer.

A recent Wall Street Journal article asked leaders in artificial intelligence how they advise their children about education and future careers. They emphasized broad education, adaptability, critical thinking, sustained effort, judgment, communication and relationships. Contrast this with the growing emphasis among many Utah leaders on preparing students for predicted labor market needs rather than equipping them to adapt to an uncertain future. Ethan Mollick, faculty at the Wharton School, described broad and deep education as insurance in uncertain times. Microsoft’s Jaime Teevan emphasized hard thinking and a traditional liberal arts education. Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei emphasized communication, empathy, kindness and relationships.

The people closest to technological disruption are not telling their children to build their future around today’s labor market predictions. They are telling them to become adaptable human beings. Reading is foundational to economic adaptation.

Luckily, reading failure is not destiny. The Gardner report notes that intervention studies find only 1-3% of students continue to experience severe reading difficulty when they receive systematic, evidence-based instruction and targeted support. Mississippi offers a practical example. Over about a decade, it aligned curriculum, expanded coaching, strengthened screening and intervention, and rose from 49th nationally in fourth grade reading in 2013 to ninth in 2024.

Utah should care deeply about the jobs of the future. But the most serious way to care about those jobs is to build children who can learn, reason, communicate and adapt. Reading is the first job policy. It is also the first college readiness policy, the first civic participation policy, and the first mobility policy.

More than that, reading is how children gain access to history, imagination, science, faith, law, memory and one another. Utah does not need to know exactly which job today’s first grader will hold in 20 years. It needs that first grader to read well enough to choose one and to enter fully into the human experience.

Gavin Roberts is an associate professor of economics and chair of the economics department at Weber State University. He is a recipient of the Gordon Tullock Prize from the Public Choice Society and regularly shares his research locally, nationally and internationally. This commentary is provided through a partnership with Weber State. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent the institutional values or positions of the university.