Slow but steady growth extending into 2013. That’s what economists at the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth are forecasting for the U.S. economy, says Stephen Kuzniak, an analyst at the center.
“In general, we see no reason to be pessimistic,” Kuzniak said Monday at a Kiwanis Club of Dalton meeting.
Kuzniak, a Dalton High School graduate, said the center is forecasting a 2.2 percent increase in gross domestic product this year and an increase of 2.4 to 2.5 percent in 2013.
He noted that employment, the stock market and other economic indicators grew faster in the first quarter of 2012 than most economists expected, but that growth has begun to fade over the last couple of months.
“The evidence is that we are seeing a slowdown this summer. We also had a summer slowdown last year. But the economy is in a better position than it was last year. The fundamentals are stronger,” he said.
“We expect the (national) unemployment rate to be in the sevens by the end of the year,” Kuzniak said. “Five years ago, that would have been extremely high. But compared to what we have been looking at recently, that’s good news.”
Kuzniak noted that Georgia has been lagging the rest of the nation and Dalton has been lagging the rest of the state, but he said that even these areas are showing signs of a recovery.
“Georgia has added about 8,000 jobs over the last year,” he said.
The state jobless rate fell almost a percentage point in May 2012 from May 2011 to 8.9 percent from 9.8 percent.
Kuzniak said the jobless rate in the 15-county northwest Georgia region has dropped to 9 percent from 10 percent in the last year.
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Stephen Kuzniak, an analyst at the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, spoke Monday at a Kiwanis Club of Dalton meeting.
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June 19, 2012
UGA economists expect slow growth ahead
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