The White House on June 6 cut is semiannual forecast from 2.9% to 2.3% , while saying the slow pace of activity early this year would pick up as the year progresses.
The White House forecast, used for federal revenue and budget projections, indicated that the slowdown to a 0.6% growth pace in the January-March quarter was likely to be transitory and that activity was showing signs of accelerating. "A variety of indicators signal a faster-growing U.S. economy for the rest of this year," said Edward Lazear, chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "Unemployment remains remarkably low, business inventories are lean compared with sales, and now industrial production is on the rise."
The forecast projects in 2007 the economy will add 131,000 jobs per month and the unemployment rate will remain at a 4.5% average for the year.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007
