There is a widespread belief that U.S. workers’ education and skills are not adequate for the demands of jobs in the modern economy, resulting in a mismatch between the skills workers possess and the skills jobs require. Many believe the purported imbalance between the supply and demand in the market for human capital will become even more serious over time. But a closer examination of the issue reveals considerable ambiguity, underscoring the need for better data than are currently available. In fact, after a closer look at the limited and not completely consistent data used to research this issue, the very existence of a skills mismatch or skills shortage may be in doubt and is by no means as obvious as often asserted.