Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Recession in 2008?

The U.S. economy will suffer as the slumping housing market eats away at job creation and consumer spending, but the nation should avoid slipping into a recession this year, according to a new economic report...

"We don't see that happening," said Edward Leamer, director and co-author of the forecast released Tuesday. "This is a tough call, but I will be very surprised if this thing actually precipitates into recession."

The forecast anticipates job growth remaining sluggish in 2008, with the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 5.5% by the end of the year. The February rate was 4.8%.

The forecast expects the economy to post gross domestic product growth of about 1.5% this year, rising to about 3% growth in 2009. GDP grew 2.2% in 2007, the weakest showing in five years.

read the CNN story

Weak growth this year, the economy strengthens next.

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