By any indicator you’d care to use, the job market still stinks.

Sure, the obvious cause is less-than-impressive economic growth since the financial crisis compared to other recoveries. Digging a little deeper, another problem is the lack of investment by the corporate sector, which is stalling out labor productivity amid, according to the surveys, uncertainty about new government regulations, the future of healthcare, and taxes.

But new research suggests some of the blame goes to the American worker, where a lack of skills has us badly trailing global peers. Decades of abundance and affluence has made us soft. And now, according to the data, the available workforce just isn’t smart enough to turn this thing around.

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Here’s why.

To understand this issue, you’ve got to understand that despite millions of unemployed Americans, recent data on the labor market from the government’s JOLTS report shows businesses are having a harder time finding qualified workers, are hoarding the ones they have, and are beginning to be forced to pay top dollar for the best workers.

This is happening despite the fact the so-called reserve army of labor now totals nearly 20 million Americans. Of that, 10.3 million are unemployed, and 7.7 million are working part-time for economic reasons. And since the financial crisis, another 12 million have left the labor force altogether.

The problem seems to be in a lack of qualified “STEM” applicants with an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In other words, we have too many liberal arts majors floating around to lead America forward in more globally competitive future. With China developing hypersonic nuclear missiles and sending missions to the moon, we don’t need any more European History majors if you know what I mean.

A recent survey by Bayer of recruiters at U.S. Fortune 1,000 companies corroborates this. It found that 89% of respondents report fierce competition to fill open STEM jobs with four-year degree holders. And 75% expect the problem to get worse, with a focus on computer/information technology and engineering.

I was first turned onto the research by a blog post from the Business Roundtable, the huddle of U.S. business elites led by Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, which has been hammering on immigration reform — specifically the need to import more STEM-educated foreigners — for months. While there are efforts to boost U.S. education in these areas, those in the corner office apparently thing it’s just quickly and easier to bring people in from India and elsewhere.

That’s because a new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that the American workforce just isn’t up to snuff against those from other nations: Skills of U.S. workers between the ages of 16 and 65 badly lag on literacy, numeracy, and problem solving. That’s a problem, since the study finds a correlation between high literacy and better political efficacy, participation in volunteer activities, more trustworthiness, and better health.

On literacy, we’re below average and lag behind the likes of the Slovak Republic, Belgium and Estonia with one in six adults suffering from low literacy skills; lagging behind Japan, where the comparable figure is one in 20. Our numeracy score is even worse (How often to people say they hate math?), lagging everyone in the study but Italy and Spain.

The problem, according to the OECD, includes failing in initial schooling and a lack of ongoing improvement over time, despite a relatively high level of education. Possible solutions include strengthening the community-college system and enhancing work-focused vocational/technology programs.

At the end of the day, it’s like this: Before the job market will get better, Americans need to get smarter.

Anthony Mirhaydari is founder ofthe Edge, an investment advisory newsletter, as well asMirhaydari Capital Management, a registered investment advisory firm. In addition to MarketWatch, Anthony writes for CBS MoneyWatch and InvestorPlace.