U.S. Economists Optimistic

Three dozen forecasters, members of the
National Association for Business Economics,
predicted last Monday that U.S. economic
expansion will slow but not stall next year
despite the drag from weakening overseas
economies, and that gross domestic product
will grow 2.2 percent in 1999 after expanding
3.4 percent this year.

The economists were optimistic about job
prospects, estimating that unemployment will
average only 4.5 percent this year and 4.7
percent in 1999.

As a group, they did not think that the 20%
decline in the stock market would trigger a
recession.