US's competitiveness ranking has slipped from 1st in 2008 to 7th in 2011

Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention where we were ranked number 1 by the World Economic Forum from 2004 to 2008.  From the Wall Street Journal:

Northern European countries topped the overall ranking of a global competitiveness report released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum, as the United States slipped for the fourth year in a row. . . . .
This year's survey showed the U.S. fell to seventh position from fifth in the global ranking but the country remains an innovation powerhouse and its markets work efficiently, the WEF said.
Switzerland took the top post for the fourth consecutive year, while Singapore remained in second position followed by Finland, overtaking Sweden which dropped to fourth place. . . .

See more on the WEF ranking here.  A copy of their latest report is available here.

The Heritage/WSJ rankings are available here: 2007 (p. 9), 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.