The International Monetary Fund has revised its forecast for US economic growth for 2023 slightly, indicating that a slowing economy could lead to a slight increase in unemployment next year.
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, said during a press conference that the new indicators “proved the resilience of the American economy,” expecting real GDP growth in the United States to increase by 1.7% this year, up from the expected 1.6% earlier this year. before slowing to 1% in 2024.
Regarding inflation, Georgieva said that flexible demand and a strong labor market constituted a “double-edged sword” for the US economy, adding that they “of course provided a boost to American households, but they also contributed to more persistent inflation that was originally expected.”
She explained that the Fed’s interest rate would need to “be somewhat higher for a longer period if it is to succeed in returning the inflation level to its long-term target of 2%.”
The international financial institution indicated that the unemployment rate in the United States will rise slightly, “with slowing but strong growth”, pushing it towards an increase to 4.4% by the end of next year.
It should be noted that despite fears of global recession, the US economy succeeded, during the first quarter of this year, in achieving a growth rate of 1.1%, below expectations, which was 2%, without preventing many analysts from expecting the US economy to enter a state of recession. During the middle of 2023.
