Philly Fed: Forecasters see stronger outlook for growth over the next two quarters

"The outlook for growth in the U.S. economy over the next two quarters looks slightly stronger overall than that of three months ago," the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said in its summary of the latest survey.

Key takeaways

The panel expects real GDP to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent this quarter and 2.4 percent next quarter, marking upward revisions from the previous survey.

On an annual-average over annual-average basis, the forecasters see real GDP growing 2.2 percent in 2017, compared with 2.1 percent from the previous survey.

The forecasters predict real GDP will grow 2.5 percent in 2018, 2.1 percent in 2019, and 1.9 percent in 2020.

The forecasters have revised downward their estimates for job gains in 2017 and in 2018.

The forecasters’ projections for the annual-average level of nonfarm payroll employment suggest job gains at a monthly rate of 178,000 in 2017, down from the previous estimate of 180,400, and 163,400 in 2018, down from the previous estimate of 165,800.