Participants see GDP growing slightly more than they did six months ago, predicting 2.2% growth through the second quarter of this year and 2.6% in the second half of the year, each 0.1-percentage point better than the previous survey, according to the June Livingston Survey, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Thursday.
The forecasters see gross domestic product growing at a 2.3% annual rate in the first half of next year.
Those surveyed also cut their predictions for the unemployment rate through June to 8.1% from 8.9% in the prior survey, and to 8.0% by year end, off from 8.7% in the prior survey. At the end of June 2013, the forecasters expect the jobless rate to fall to 7.8%.
