JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States ranked fourth internationally in attracting, producing, and retaining talent for the second consecutive year according to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI). The Index, which is a partnership between Adecco Group, the world's leading provider of human resource solutions, and the Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore, highlighted how vital attracting talent is in today's global workforce.

The GTCI, which featured a theme of "Talent Attraction and International Mobility," measured the competitiveness of 109 nations based on the quality of developed and acquired talent combined along with the range and strength of skills available within the labor market, allows countries to determine and compare their strengths and weaknesses in the global war for top talent.

In the 2015-2016 GTCI, Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg took spots one through three, Once again, the top 10 countries continued to be dominated by European nations, but both the United States and Canada were included in top rankings.

With the United States coming in fourth position, key findings around the U.S. talent landscape included:

• The United States outperformed the average performance of high-income countries in every pillar and led the way in growing its own talent through elements like formal education, lifelong training, and access to networks. Additionally, the U.S. also featured a large pool of individuals with global knowledge like scientists, engineers and people that innovate and engage in entrepreneurial activities.
• The combination of a good formal education system and good access to growth opportunities provided the United States with the best pool of higher skills and competencies, however, in order to stay at the top of the global race for talent, the U.S. must continue to offer the best educational and market opportunities to job seekers.
• The U.S. fell short in the 'labor and vocational' pillar, and particularly in the availability of vocational skills and infrastructure. While this is not a U.S. specific problem, this skills deficit continues to show a massive shortage of job seekers lacking the vocational and work-training skills needed for today's economy and the future workforce.

"Over the last 12 months, we've seen the workforce add millions of jobs— a major step in the right direction— but we must look forward and determine ways that more Americans can find work now and in the future," said Bob Crouch, Chief Executive Officer of Adecco Group North America. "The GTCI highlights where the United States is excelling in the global war for talent, but it also shows areas where we can improve. As we review the Index, it's important for the private and public sectors to come together and collaborate on ways that we can develop members of the future workforce while improving our current job market."

To view the GTCI report in full, please visit: http://adec.co/GTCIreport2015

ABOUT ADECCO GROUP NORTH AMERICA
Every day we provide our clients with the talent they need, and help solve the business challenges they face today – and will encounter tomorrow. Our clients rely on us for a wide range of workforce solutions including:

• Contingent staffing and direct hire recruitment for large enterprise organizations across all skill sets
• Workforce solutions and consulting including Managed Services Programs (MSP) & Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)
• Career transition and leadership consulting
• Specialty staffing, project solutions and consulting services

ABOUT THE ADECCO GROUP
The Adecco Group, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is the world's leading provider of HR solutions. With approximately 32,000 FTE employees and around 5,100 branches in over 60 countries and territories around the world, Adecco Group offers a wide variety of services, connecting more than 650,000 associates with our clients every day. The services offered fall into the broad categories of temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition and talent development, as well as outsourcing and consulting. The Adecco Group is a Fortune Global 500 company.

Adecco S.A. is registered in Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN).

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SOURCE Adecco Group