There is reason to think the situation will soon be brighter, the report said.
"The outlook for job growth in New York City over the short term is not particularly bright," the report said.
"Unfortunately, the future doesn't look any brighter," the report's authors conclude.
"[The year] 2013 has thus far exceeded expectations and the outlook is quite bright," the report said on the UK.
As bright spots the report identified the continued transition by Afghan security forces into taking the lead on most routine patrols throughout the country and a decline in violence in populated areas like Kabul, the Afghan capital, and Kandahar, the largest city in the south.
One bright spot, the report found, is that the proportion of young adults without health insurance fell significantly over the last two years, probably because of a provision of the Affordable Care Act that allows young adults to stay on their parents' health plans until age 26.
One member of the panel, meanwhile, says she believes the future of U.S. biofuels "is much brighter" than the report suggests and worries its findings could undermine political support for biofuels.
On the bright side, the report says recent evidence shows that global vulnerability to flooding is declining, especially in low-income areas, in response to rising income per capita and efforts to adapt to a changing climate.
What's more, it does so chiefly by considering who is fit to lead in the 21st century: "Who will lead America into a bright future?" the report asks.
But the continued growth at Frito-Lay North America was the brightest spot in the report.
