NEW YORK—Business economists are slightly less bullish about prospects for economic growth next year, according to a survey published Monday.
The National Association for Business Economics says the average forecast is for growth of 2.6 percent next year, down slightly from 2.7 percent in its previous survey conducted in September. But they expect the jobs market to continue strengthening, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.7 percent by the end of 2016. The rate now stands at 5 percent.
The survey conducted Nov. 6-18 among a panel of 49 business economists struck a slightly downbeat note as experts lowered earlier forecasts on a variety of measures of economic health, including housing starts and industrial production.
Further out, two-thirds of those surveyed expect potential economic growth between 2 and 2.5 percent over the next five years.
Highlights of the association’s survey:
— Lower growth: In addition to the lowered forecast for gross domestic product next year, economists cut their expectation for this year. GDP is now expected to grow 2.4 percent in 2015. A year ago, economists expected robust growth of 3.1 percent this year, which would have been the strongest since 2005.
