Is America's Skills Gap Real or an Illusion?

A disquieting feature of the nation's fitful recovery has been its inability to create new jobs that many Americans need. It isn't just those who lost jobs during the recent recession that are looking for work but an ever-growing number of new entrants into the job market, including recent high school and college graduates.

To combat the persistent lack of job creation, President Obama earlier this year asked 26 leaders from the private sector to come together and brainstorm ideas to accelerate job growth and boost America's competitiveness.