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28 March 2024

Forecasters see deeper US downturn, but hopeful for 2010 recovery

(EB FILE)

Published
By AP

Leading forecasters are projecting that the recession in the US is projected to worsen this year.

The US stands to lose a sizable chunk of economic activity in 2009. And the US unemployment rate – now at 7.6 per cent, the highest in more than 16 years – is expected to hit a peak of 9 per cent this year.

That gloomy outlook came from leading forecasters in the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics to be released on Monday. The new estimates are roughly in line with other recent projections, including those released last week by the Federal Reserve.

NABE president Chris Varvares and his fellow forecasters now expect the economy to shrink by 1.9 per cent this year, a much deeper contraction than the 0.2 per cent dip projected in the autumn.