The high numbers of unemployed may well see it as a recession.
The U.S. economy will muddle through the next year without a recession, but growth will be too weak to make much of a dent in the unemployment rate, forecasters believe.
Both estimates were a slight 0.1 percentage point higher than the group’s September forecast but would still leave the economy growing far below the pace needed to significantly lower the high unemployment rate of 9 percent.
The U.S. economy will grow more than previously estimated through 2012, with little chance of another recession, led by gains in business investment and commercial construction, a survey showed.