As the country continues to deal with the economic and health crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, forecasters are cautiously optimistic for the future but warn that meaningful growth is still several months away.
Following an initial rebound, “the economy has noticeably slowed in the past couple of months,” says Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “We see that slow growth continuing into the fourth quarter and quite frankly into the first three months of 2021.” He expects the economy to ramp up in the second half of 2021, but adds that an additional stimulus package, as well as a vaccine that is widely available by mid-2021—two factors still not set in stone—are built into the Dodge forecast.