US Economists Predict Strong 2015

London, March 10, 2015 (Newswire.com) - US GDP Figures have just been released for Q4 2014 and despite a slight slowdown in growth, economists are expecting great things from 2015. The Commerce Department have announced that in Q4 the US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2%. For all of 2014 the figure was slightly higher at 2.4% which is a marked improvement on 2013. Predictions for 2015 however estimate that growth will rise above 3% which would be the strongest level of growth seen in a decade.

One of the reasons behind the growth is the recovering job market which is generating stronger consumer spending. In Q4 the US added around 284,000 new jobs. With such large increases in new jobs, unemployment numbers are coming down and companies are paying their employees more to retain them. Walmart’s announcement last week that they would increase the minimum wage for its employees is a sure sign that a tighter labour market is leading to increased wages.

JPMorgan economists have predicted growth of around 2.5% in Q1 2015 with growth between 2.5% and 3% for the rest of the year. They expect growth of 3.1% for the entire year which would be a significant improvement on 2014 and the best GDP performance since 2005. Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisers, is even more optimistic. He believes the US will see economic growth of 3.5% this year.