Economist See Slower Growth Toward Year-End

Private-sector economists see the economy growing more quickly than previously forecast in the first three quarters of 2010, but growth would be slower than expected toward the end of the year, a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia survey said on Friday.

For the full year 2010, economists raised growth estimates for annualized real gross domestic product (GDP) to 3 percent from their earlier projections of 2.4 percent.

They said job growth would be greater than expected for the next two quarters, but downwardly revised estimates for after that. While jobs are now expected to grow by 600 a month in the first quarter and 117,600 a month in the second quarter, they are forecast to grow on average by 96,000 in the second half of 2010.