News & Updates

The Council is highlighting two related trends in the U.S. economy. For much of the modern era, rising productivity and compensation moved broadly together, helping drive higher living standards. Drawing on Bureau of Labor Statistics data since 1973, the first graphic shows the extraordinary gains in U.S. productive capacity over the past five decades alongside […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, As summer winds down and we approach Labor Day, the Council team and I have been reflecting on how much the competitive landscape has changed since the Council’s founding in 1986. The global competitiveness landscape has shifted dramatically in 40 years. And unprecedented waves of technological revolutions – and the […]

The Clarion Call, and partner infographic, is issued by the Council on Competitiveness to identify critical global economic transformations and put forth a set of recommendations for policymakers that would strengthen the United States’ economic foundation and allow for long-term, sustained growth.

The U.S. job market is undergoing a fundamental transformation. In 1983, when the U.S. economy supported roughly 100 million jobs, most positions were accessible to workers with no education beyond high school. By 2031, as the economy grows to an estimated 171 million jobs, nearly three-quarters of all jobs will require some form of postsecondary […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, The third edition of our 2026 "Competitiveness Conversations Across America," San Diego: Building the Next Economy’s Strategic Innovation Stack — Compute, AI, Energy, Bio, Autonomy, and Security, was as incredibly insightful and engaging as the past dozen. Under the vision of Council Executive Committee Member and UC San Diego Chancellor […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, The celebration of our Council’s 40th anniversary and the nation's 250th Independence Day is the right time to consider the extraordinary role innovation – encompassing imagination, insight, ingenuity, invention, and impact – has always played in America’s history of prosperity and global leadership.  As we noted in our seminal report, […]

Source: Grant Witness A new analysis of National Science Foundation (NSF) grant awards and funding trends raises concerns about the future of the U.S. research enterprise. The data indicate the NSF is on pace for its lowest level of research grantmaking in more than 50 years, with both the number of awards and the total […]

Photo: The Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on CompetitivenessPhoto credit: University of Nebraska System The next great U.S. innovation story is growing in Nebraska. In her latest Forbes.com article, the Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness, makes the case that America’s Heartland has many of the assets needed […]

During the Council's Summer 2026 Board, Executive Committee, and National Commission Meeting, Gallup Chairman and Council Executive Committee Member Jim Clifton opened the day with a challenge to the standard framing of U.S. economic health. The 4.3 percent official unemployment rate reported that morning, he argued, excludes a vast number of Americans who are, effectively, […]

Dear Council on Competitiveness Community, As we move into summer, having paid our respects to America’s military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedoms, we continue to build momentum toward our country’s 250th birthday and our own 40th anniversary celebration this December. Please make sure to save the dates for this special edition of the […]