Survey: Private sector more bullish on job market

NABE’s latest survey comes in the heat of the 2012 campaign, with the state of the economy expected to play a large role in deciding which party controls the White House and Congress. Employers added more than 200,000 jobs in both January and February, but both March and April saw softer job growth.

{mosads}The survey now predicts that the economy will grow at 2.4 percent clip in 2012, before accelerating to 2.8 percent growth in 2013.

The Fed’s most recent projections, from April, said real gross domestic product would increase between 2.4 percent and 2.9 percent in 2012, and between 2.7 percent and 3.1 percent in 2013.

The analysts surveyed are also slightly more hopeful on the housing front, projecting that housing starts will hit 720,000 in 2012 — an 18 percent increase over 2011.

According to the survey, the budget deficit is also projected to sink below $1 trillion in 2013, to $900 billion. The panelists predicted the 2012 deficit would be just under $1.2 trillion.

Decreases in government spending, the survey said, would be the driving force behind the reduction in the deficit.

With the Treasury Department expecting the debt ceiling will need to be raised early next year, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has already demanded that any hike be paired with even larger spending cuts.

Washington Democrats have called for a mix of spending cuts and tax increases to rein in deficits.