Slower jobs recovery ahead: White House
September 2nd, 2011 - 12:38 pm ICT by IANS
Washington, Sep 2 (IANS) Sobered by developments like the debt crisis in Europe and continued troubles in housing at home, the White House has grown less optimistic about economic growth and jobs.
The White House budget office forecast Thursday that the unemployment rate won’t fall below 6 percent until 2017 — two years later than it predicted in February, when President Obama delivered his 2012 budget proposal to Congress.
The Office of Management and Budget also lowered its estimates for annual GDP growth by roughly a percentage point for this year, next year and 2013. Its forecasts for 2015 and 2016 are somewhat higher than they were.
OMB said in its “mid-session review” that it now expects the economy to grow at a 1.7 percent rate this year, down from its 2.7 percent forecast in February. Growth is expected to be 2.6 percent next year and 3.5 percent in 2013.
Despite the downward revisions, “we are not forecasting a double-dip recession,” Katharine Abraham, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers was cited as saying by CNN.
In terms of unemployment, OMB said that it still expects the jobless rate — currently 9.1 percent — to gradually come down.
But the pace of decline is now expected to be more gradual. For 2011, it forecast the rate will stay at 9.1 percent. At the same time, its forecast for unemployment this year is actually lower than predicted in February.
The Office of Management and Budget’s mid-session review comes a week before President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a series of proposals to boost employment and reduce deficits to a joint session of Congress.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
- US to grow 4 percent, unemployment to stay at 9 percent - Jul 24, 2010
- Job creation, economic growth Obama's top priority - Aug 06, 2011
- Australia's unemployment rate forecast to rise in 2012 - Jan 16, 2012
- `Eurozone crisis to dent Canadian growth' - Jan 19, 2012
- Obama signs trade pacts into law - Oct 22, 2011
- Britain's jobless rate to hit 9 percent - Mar 06, 2012
- US lawmakers offer stimulus deal amid jobs pessimism - Feb 12, 2010
- Chinese economy to grow 9.28 percent in 2011: Economists - Aug 21, 2011
- Italy's GDP to drop in 2012 - May 23, 2012
- US economy grew 2.5 percent in third quarter - Oct 28, 2011
- S&P; cuts Spain rating - Apr 27, 2012
- Spain jobless rate may rise to 23 percent - Nov 29, 2011
- US economic growth accelerates - Jan 28, 2012
- US Fed hints at new steps to boost recovery - Apr 26, 2012
- Spanish economy expected to shrink in 2012 - Jan 24, 2012
Tags: arun kumar, barack obama, budget office, budget proposal, cnn, council of economic advisers, debt crisis, double dip recession, economic growth, gdp, gdp growth, jobless rate, joint session of congress, katharine abraham, office of management and budget, omb, percentage point, revisions, unemployment rate, white house