Staffing Industry Analysts (11/13/23)

The US economic outlook looks somewhat better now than it did three months ago, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s quarterly Survey of Professional Forecasters.

Forecasters now expect the US economy to grow at an annual rate of 1.3% this quarter, up from the 1.2% forecast in the last report.

They also predict the US will add 148,800 new jobs per month in this quarter, compared to the previous forecast of 103,700. However, the unemployment rate is forecast to be higher, at 3.9%; they had previously forecast 3.7%.

Looking at GDP per year, forecasters revised GDP growth forecast for 2024 upward to 1.7% from the previous projection of 1.3%. They lowered their growth estimate for 2025 but increased it for 2026.

Unemployment in the upcoming years is also estimated to be higher than in 2023.