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Forecast raises Q2 jobs estimate

May 10, 2013

U.S. job growth estimates for the second quarter of 2013 have been revised upward in the Survey of Professional Forecasters released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The survey now expects the U.S. to add an average of 179,000 jobs per month in the second quarter, up from an estimated 154,200 jobs in the forecasters’ last report.

However, economists decreased their job-growth estimate for the remainder of the year. And the U.S. is forecast to add 169,800 jobs per month on average for full-year 2013, up from the previous estimate of 164,100.

The unemployment rate is estimated to trend down to an annual average of 7.6 percent this year, before falling to 7.1 percent in 2014, 6.7 percent in 2015, and 6.3 percent in 2016. These projections are slightly below those of the previous survey.

Forecasters also estimate that growth in real gross domestic product will ease to 1.8 percent in the second quarter from the previous estimate of 2.3 percent.

The Survey of Professional Forecasters includes estimates made by 42 economists.

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