The global economic crisis has had a profound impact on people’s well-being, reaching far beyond the loss of jobs and income, and affecting citizens’ satisfaction with their lives and their trust in governments, according to a new OECD report.

An OECD study published today says the United States should take concerted action to address the adult skills challenge, warning it could progressively fall behind other countries. The study argues that low-skilled populations face a bleak future, creating challenges both to equity and social cohesion.

This report draws on the new international OECD Survey of Adult Skills to highlight the challenges faced by the United States. It shows that the United States should take action to improve adult skills, if it wants to avoid falling behind other countries. The report also advances a set of key recommendations to improve basic skills across the board.

Two rounds of the Survey of Adult Skills are under way: Round 1 (2008-13) with 24 participating countries, whose results were released in October 2013, and Round 2 (2012-16) with 9 participating countries, whose results will be released in 2016. A third round is scheduled to begin in May 2014.

These country notes contain indicators which compare the political and institutional frameworks of national governments as well as revenues and expenditures, employment, and compensation. They include a description of government policies on integrity, e-government and open government.

Though gone 50 years ago this week, John F. Kennedy remains an icon of our times. The OECD stands as a living tribute to his legacy.

The OECD was born transatlantic since its very origins as the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation in 1948, established in the immediate post-war period to manage and distribute Marshall Plan aid to reconstruct Europe. The centre of gravity of the world economy is now shifting and will continue to do so but this does not mean that the Transatlantic Partnership has a lesser role to play on the global stage, said Angel Gurría.

The Secretary-General of the OECD, Mr. Angel Gurría, will be in Washington on 2-3 December 2013, to present the results of the 2013 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), alongside Mr. Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education of the United States. The Secretary-General will also meet with several high-level US officials.

Note summarising the performance of 15-year-old students in the United States in the PISA 2012 assessment of mathematics, reading and science

PISA provides the most comprehensive international comparison of the skills and knowledge of 15-year-olds around the world in mathematics, science and reading. We take stock in three year periods and run the numbers and publish them a year later. Thus, these results correspond to the 2010-2012 period and they are the 5th set we prepare and publish since 2000.

Talks to free up more trade and investment between the European Union and the United States got under way early in 2013. A good agreement in 2014 would be a positive thing, and not just for the EU and the US.

Inequality is a multi-dimensional challenge, it goes beyond income and it affects the wellbeing of our people. We need a multidisciplinary policy response and that’s what the Inclusive Growth initiative that we are launching in the OECD will provide.

Recovery is under way in the world’s advanced economies, underpinned by supportive financial conditions and reduced drag from budgetary tightening, but activity in the major emerging markets is mixed, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment.

This note presents key findings for the United States from Society at a Glance 2014 - OECD Social indicators. This 2014 publication also provides a special chapter on: the crisis and its aftermath: a “stress test” for societies and for social policies.

Note summarising the United States' results in the PISA 2012 problem solving assessment.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, was in Washington from 10 to 13 April 2014, to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FM&CBG) meetings and the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings. While in Washington, Mr. Gurría also held bilateral meetings with several US senior officials.

A moderate recovery is under way in major advanced economies after two years of subdued growth. Overall, most indications point to a continued underlying strengthening of the pace of growth, helped by accommodative monetary policy and reduced fiscal drag.

Economic activity in the United States is projected to pick up in steadily in 2014 as the effects of the severe winter weather dissipate and investment and consumption expand, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.

When it comes to well-being, American users of the OECD Better Life Index (BLI) want to be happy, Canadians care most about health, while Latin Americans strive for better education. That’s according to user feedback as the Index marks its third birthday.

The United States can further improve productivity in its economy by prioritizing reforms that enhance openness, diversity and competition in services markets, particularly where higher trade restrictions are observed.

Soaring obesity rates make the US the fattest country in the OECD, with 36.5% of obese adults. Roughly 70% of US adults are overweight, which corresponds to the second highest rate in the OECD (just after Mexico, 71.3%).

The most effective policy tool kit to address high inequalities and to extend opportunities is one that combines education and job training measures, policies to boost job creation, and reforms to make the tax and benefit system and public services more efficient.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, will be in Washington on 12-13 June 2014 to present the 2014 OECD Economic Survey of the United States. While in Washington, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks at a seminar on Inclusive Growth hosted at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He will also have meetings with high level US officials.

The enduring idea that the rising tide of economic growth lifts all boats is no longer a universal truth. In the US, even before the Great Recession, the poorest were steadily losing ground. Between 2000 and 2012 the average disposable income of the bottom 10% in the US fell by 14%, underlined the OECD Secretary-General.

Economic recovery in the United States is stronger than in most OECD countries, but it will remain sluggish unless new reforms are launched to boost growth, according to OECD’s latest Economic Survey of the United States.

Country notes highlight some key findings from TALIS 2013 for individual countries and economies

Gains made towards slowing health expenditure growth in the United States in recent years could be negated by price increases associated with the continuing economic recovery unless more efforts are made to contain spending, says a new OECD paper published in The Lancet.

The USA has exceptional levels of health-care expenditure, but growth slowed dramatically in recent years, amidst major efforts to close the coverage gap with other OECD countries.

PISA 2012 financial literacy results focusing on the performance of the United States among 17 other countries and economies who participated in the assessment: Australia, Belgium (Flemish Community), Shanghai-China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Israel, Italy, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Spain

The ability to measure innovation is essential to an improvement strategy in education. This country note analyses how the practices are changing within classrooms and educational organisations and how teachers develop and use their pedagogical resources.

OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Catherine L. Mann as the new OECD Chief Economist. Her appointment will reinforce the OECD’s commitment to identifying and promoting better policies for better lives around the world.

Country notes with main key findings of the book and key fact tables: a customised snapshot of a country's educational environment, highlighting the most important issues in the educational landscape.

A moderate expansion is underway in most major advanced and emerging economies, but growth remains weak in the euro area, which runs the risk of prolonged stagnation if further steps are not taken to boost demand, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment.

OECD Secretary-General was in New York from 22 to 25 to attend the United Nations Climate Summit, in which he moderated a panel discussion on “The Economic Case for Action”. He also held bilateral meetings with several world leaders attending the Summit and UN high level officials.

The UN Climate Summit took place on 23 September 2014 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The OECD's Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, chaired the session on "The Economic Case for Climate Action," where global leaders discussed The New Climate Economy Report: Better Growth, Better Climate, by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

U.S. employers are demanding skilled workforces, but are not always able to find a local supply, says a new OECD study looking at Job Creation and Local Economic Development.

This publication highlights new evidence on policies to support job creation, bringing together the latest research on labour market, entrepreneurship and local economic development policy to help governments support job creation in the recovery. It also includes a set of country pages featuring, among other things, new data on skills supply and demand at the level of smaller OECD regions (TL3).

On the occasion of the OECD High Level Policy Forum on Migration taking place on December 1 and 2 2014, Secretary General Angel Gurria congratulates President Obama on taking action to address the unsustainable situation of undocumented immigrants.

The tax burden in the United States of America increased by 1percentage point from 24.4% to 25.4% in 2013. The OECD average was an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 33.7% to 34.1%. The United States is the only OECD country that employs a retail sales tax rather than a value added tax (VAT) as the principal consumption tax.

Going for Growth 2015: Key findings for United States

Low oil prices and monetary easing are boosting growth in the world’s major economies, but the near-term pace of expansion remains modest, withabnormally low inflation and interest rates pointing to risks of financial instability, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment.

In his speech delivered at the Brookings Institute, OECD Secretary-General Gurría explains that OECD’s numbers tell a clear-cut story of how our traditional economic growth agenda has neglected inclusiveness. Yet to begin to tackle this problem, we have to understand that inequality is not just about money. It touches every area of people’s lives.

Mr. Gurría attended the Spring meetings of the World Bank Group, IMF and G20 Finance Ministers, and held meetings with high-level officials from the US and other countries. He delivered remarks at various events and also presented the report Pensions at a Glance: Latin America and Caribbean as well as the 2015 OECD SME Scoreboard.

Levels of alcohol consumption in the United States are close to the OECD average and have remained relatively stable in the last 20 years, but with a progressive shift from beer to spirit consumption. In 2011, an average of 8.6 litres of pure alcohol per capita was consumed in the United States, compared with an estimate of 9.5 litres in the OECD.

This country note provides information on latest trends in income inequalities as well as key findings from the 2015 OECD report "In it Together: Why less inequality benefits all".

The United States has been successful at reducing the mortality due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) but the burden of CVD and diabetes is increasing rapidly.

Specific country notes have been prepared using data from the database OECD Health Statistics 2015, July 2015 version. The notes are available in PDF format.

It is often said that the United States is a nation of immigrants. Is the US still the best place to settle in?

The Secretary-General attended the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 agenda and the UN 2015 general assembly. He delivered remarks on strengthening global partnership for the post-2015 development agenda, participated in high-level events in the margins of the summit, and met with leaders and officials also in attendance.

Life expectancy in the United States is lower than in most other OECD countries for several reasons, including poorer health-related behaviours and the highly fragmented nature of the US health system. The proportion of adults who smoke in the United States is among the lowest in OECD countries, but alcohol consumption is rising and obesity rate is the highest.