IMF lowers estimate of US economic growth in 2014

Yahoo News ^ | 16 Jun 2014

[mandaladon]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is poised to accelerate after a dismal start to the year even though the job market won't return to full employment until 2017. That was the forecast offered Monday in a report by the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF noted that steady job gains and other recent data suggest that the economy is rebounding. Employers have added 200,000-plus jobs for four straight months, and the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.3 percent. Auto sales and factory activity are increasing.

Yet growth in 2014 won't likely top last year's lackluster performance, the IMF says. The Washington-based organization foresees the economy growing a modest 2 percent in 2014, below its previous estimate of 2.7 percent. That would be nearly identical to the 1.9 percent growth in 2013. The IMF blames the lingering aftermath of the brutal winters and a sluggish recovery in home sales. Years of disappointing growth mean the economy might not reach full employment — which many economists say is when the unemployment rate is between 5 and 5.5 percent — for three more years.

[mandaladon]

Yet growth in 2014 won't likely top last year's lackluster performance, the IMF says. The Washington-based organization foresees the economy growing a modest 2 percent in 2014, below its previous estimate of 2.7 percent.................Somebody better inform Barry

[Buckeye McFrog]

the job market won't return to full employment until 2017

The date is just a coincidence, I'm sure. /s

[DonaldC]

I heard a bit of this IMF info on Bloomberg this morning. Funny they admit the US is most powerful economy in the world, yet still think we need to adopt failing policies used around the world, like high minimum wage and such. They need to learn, people can’t have their cake and eat it too.

[VanDeKoik]

The IMF is racist.