BY LEE JIAN CHUNG
ANCHOR KYLIE MCGIVERN
On the eve of President Obama’s job speech, the latest World Economic Forum report has dropped the United States in its rankings - from fourth most competitive to fifth. The report is said to be an indicator of future economic growth. The BBC has details on the report:
“The WEF says the report is designed to identify advantages and impediments to national growth in order to offer a benchmarking tool to both the public and private sectors.”
This is the third year the US has fallen in its ranking. The forum ranks countries on 12 categories including: health, education, and technology readiness.
Bloomberg spoke with Forum Managing Director Robert Greenhill who detailed what the drop means for the US looking forward:
GREENHILL: “Well, it is very important in the sense that competitiveness is a sign of what growth may be like in the future. I don’t think it’ll have an impact on whether there is a double dip, but it certainly is a warning sign as to American growth in intermedium terms if the issues aren’t addressed.”
But a writer for the Los Angeles Times says, the U.S. shouldn’t be too worried about this forecast.
“The U.S. had several advantages, including highly sophisticated and innovative companies, an excellent university system, flexible labor markets and its enormous domestic economy… the U.S. still outpaced Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Britain, which rounded out the top ten.”
On Fox News a correspondent says the drop in rankings could affect President Obama's job speech on Thursday.
"On the day the World Economic Forum dropped the U.S. from fourth to fifth on its list of most competitive economies, President Obama is putting the finishing touches on his much anticipated jobs plan. Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry reports the pressure is on the president, to deliver."
The report cited public distrust of government and business leaders as one of the main reasons the ranking fell. And as WNET reports - those business leaders aren't bullish on U.S. economic prospects.
"That tarnished world status is an issue that worries many business leaders, they're a main target audience for President Obama's speech tomorrow night. After all, they are the ones deciding whether to add jobs. And most of them are not, and why would they? Only 18% think the U.S. economy will improve in the next six months, according to a new survey."
For the U.S. to move up in the rankings, the WEF said it would need to reduce the deficit and restore economic stability.
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