That is true, but it can also mean that the education system is not teaching to the real economy. There's definitely a significant place for an education which

That is true, but it can also mean that the education system is not teaching to the real economy. There's definitely a significant place for an education which has no reference to the economy, but that is a failure if what you're supposed to be getting is a technical education, or if your aim is to increase productivity. Just because people have spent a lot of time learning something, it doesn't mean that skill or knowledge is actually in demand. Unfortunately there's a class prejudice on technical as opposed to academic education which limits everyone involved. Ideally everyone would study some balance of academic and technical, both before starting their career, and also intermittently throughout their life. For instance, a lot of academics could do with a technical methods-based education on stats, use of IT in particular areas, and so on. And a lot of people who have done academic degrees (whether in sciences of humanities) are a long way from actually being useful in a real job. A lot of people who are in careers which are over-supplied, low-paid, etc, really should be cutting their losses and training for another career. And a lot of people who are employed, even in high positions, have deficient understanding of areas which are necessary to do their job well.