Hand-wringing over the U.S. election is putting a clamp on economic recovery, according to a survey released Monday.
Some 60% of business economists say that uncertainty about the November vote is damaging prospects for growth this year.
In their latest forecasts, members of the National Association for Business Economics have once again marked down their expectations for this year, pegging the overall growth in gross domestic product at just 1.8%. That's down from 2.2% in the group's March survey and 2.6% in December of last year.
The U.S. economy hit a soft patch in the first three months of 2016, slowing to an annual growth rate of just 0.8%, according to the government's latest reporting. Since then, the economic data have been flashing mixed signals.
Consumer spending stateside surged in April, posting the biggest gain in nearly seven years. But Friday's report on the U.S. job market showed the pace of hiring slowed sharply in May, and was weaker than originally reported in the prior two months.
The slowdown comes as firms are growing increasingly uneasy about the outcome of the presidential election, and the wider uncertainty about the policies advanced by the next occupant of the White House.
Some of the specific policy proposals have also raised concerns, including those by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to get tough on U.S. trade partners China and Mexico, thus drawing the country into a trade war out of which America might stand to lose.
Political uncertainty around the world is also a cause for concern, according to the NABE economists. Nearly one in 4 cited the rise of nationalist views around the globe as the most important factor holding back the world's economy over the next two years.
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