Americans' lack of basic computer skills contributed to high unemployment between 2008 and 2011, with state employment agencies devoting much of their efforts to helping unemployed workers learn remedial computer skills. Hawaiian employment service officials assessing job applicants noted that 60 percent of them didn't have adequate computer skills for available positions. CNN noted that 2010's careers with the highest demand included network development, data analysis and software engineering, all requiring advanced knowledge of computers. The data indicates that employers throughout the 2010s will be most attracted to workers proficient with information technology.
Computers are increasingly important in American classrooms, as educators augment schoolwork with computer-based learning modules that supplement class instruction. High schools often have computer literacy instruction and graduation requirements as educators realize that their graduates need basic computer and software skills to be employable in positions beyond minimum wage service jobs. Distance learning requires basic computer competency and benefits working adults augmenting their skill sets for career advancement, as well as children who can receive personal tutoring via videoconferencing in subjects they're struggling with.
Movie rental businesses and recorded music companies distribute much of their content via the Internet, making a basic understanding of computer networking necessary to receive content and troubleshoot delivery problems. The collapse of Movie Gallery and bankruptcy of Blockbuster in 2010 indicates that online services such as Netflix and Amazon on Demand will largely determine how movie lovers rent films, with streaming and downloading of purchases becoming both companies' preferred delivery method. The Boston Globe reports that digital recordings now account for one-third of all music sales, and online subscription services such as Mog and Rhapsody offer virtual music libraries for home listening. Without basic computing skills, people are effectively cut off from these entertainment options.
While only 17 percent of Americans owned a smartphone in 2010, Forrester Research predicts that 80 percent of the U.S. population will own one by 2015. Smartphones are essentially mini-computers complete with operating systems and applications for productivity and entertainment. Smartphones will be essential for the increasing number of American workers who need to remotely access their office computers. As smartphones edge less sophisticated cell phones out of the market during the 2010s, computer-illiterate users will struggle with basic mobile communications.