UCLA Anderson Forecast Sees "Regime Change"

LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- UCLA Anderson Forecast's first quarterly report in 2018 sees a definitive change in the nation's economy, which is moving from one of sluggish growth and low inflation to one of accelerating growth and moderate inflation. At the same time, with President Trump's announced plans to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum, things could get worse, as domestic costs rise and foreign producers retaliate. Amid the changes forecast for the national outlook, California, still leading the nation in job growth, is expected to continue to outperform the U.S.

The National Forecast
The sudden 10% decline in stock prices and the rise in long-term interest rates in early February signaled what economists label a "regime change," as the economic environment shifts from one of sluggish growth and low inflation to one of accelerating growth and moderate inflation. Concurrently, monetary policy is transitioning from one of accommodation to one of normalization, with four federal funds rate hikes in 2018; while fiscal policy moves from a moderate deficit to one with trillion-dollar deficits on the horizon. The $300 billion budget compromise during a two-year period, combined with the recently enacted $1.5 trillion tax cuts during a 10-year period, highlighted the demise of the so-called deficit hawks. The budget compromise also called for a substantial increase in defense spending, which ratified the Forecast's long-held belief that the era of tightening in that sector is over.

The Trump Administration's fiscal policy also will be playing a major role in increasing the trade deficit. "Because the United States is consuming more than it is producing, it needs to make up the difference through imports," says UCLA Anderson Forecast Senior Economist David Shulman.

Real GDP growth is on track to continue its 3% pace, established in the second quarter of 2017. A growth rate of 2.9% is expected for 2018, but will slow to 2.6% in 2019 and a sluggish 1.6% in 2020.

Why the slowdown? "Simply put, the economy is already operating at full employment and is bound by slow labor force growth and sluggish productivity," says Shulman. Nevertheless, job growth is expected to continue, albeit at a slower clip than in recent years, with the unemployment rate hitting 3.5% in early 2019.

Although housing activity will continue to expand through 2019, it will be far from a boom, thanks to higher interest rates and higher home prices, which exact a toll on housing prices. After recording 1.2 million housing starts in 2017, the Forecast anticipates 1.3 million units in 2018 and 1.38 million and 1.36 million units in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

The California Report
California continued to be a leader in the nation in job growth, hitting all-time high employment in December 2017. Growth in net new jobs in the Bay Area in 2017, while still significant, eased toward the end of the year, but that was offset by increased growth in the Inland Empire, San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento and the Delta. During the last three months of 2017, employment growth accelerated in most of the state, with inland regions outpacing some of the faster growing, tech-dependent regions. It is expected that California's unemployment rate will have its normal differential to the U.S. rate at 4.3% by the end of the forecast period (2020).

With a budget resolution calling for a significant increase in the purchase of sophisticated defense durable goods, demand for manufacturing and engineering in Southern California may increase, as will demand for technological developments throughout the state. "The increase in investment is likely to be in technologically advanced equipment and software. Thus, the California tech industry will see a bump in demand," says UCLA Anderson Forecast Director and Senior Economist Jerry Nickelsburg. "To achieve this, more labor will be needed and wages will have to increase to draw the labor in, either from the sidelines or from outside the state."

The forecast for 2018, 2019 and 2020 total employment growth in California is 2.2%, 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively. Payrolls will grow at about the same rate over the forecast horizon. Real personal income growth is forecast to be 3.1%, 3.6% and 2.8% in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Homebuilding will accelerate to about 138,000 units per year in 2020.

Trade, Taxes and Trump
All of the economists' reports will be presented at the UCLA Anderson Forecast's quarterly conference on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The conference also features a panel discussion that will focus on changes to expect in taxes and the trade pact negotiations and what they mean for the economy. Panelists will include: Edward Leamer, Distinguished Professor, Chauncey J. Medberry Chair in Management, UCLA Anderson School of Management; Michael Storper, Distinguished Professor of Regional and International Development in Urban Planning and Director, Global Public Affairs, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs; Eric Zolt, Michael H. Schill Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA Law; Sebastian Edwards, Distinguished Professor, Henry Ford II Chair of International Management, GEM Area Chair, Director Center for Global Management, UCLA Anderson School of Management.

The conference will be held in Korn Convocation Hall at UCLA Anderson School of Management. For more information about attending the conference, please visit anderson.ucla.edu/centers/ucla-anderson-forecast.

About UCLA Anderson Forecast
UCLA Anderson Forecast is one of the most widely watched and often-cited economic outlooks for California and the nation, and was unique in predicting both the seriousness of the early 1990s downturn in California and the strength of the state's rebound since 1993. More recently, the Forecast was credited as the first major U.S. economic forecasting group to declare the recession of 2001. Visit UCLA Anderson Forecast at uclaforecast.com.

About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is among the leading business schools in the world, with faculty members globally renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Located in Los Angeles, gateway to the growing economies of Latin America and Asia and a city that personifies innovation in a diverse range of endeavors, UCLA Anderson's MBA, Fully Employed MBA, Executive MBA, UCLA-NUS Global Executive MBA for Asia Pacific, Master of Financial Engineering, Master of Science in Business Analytics, doctoral and executive education programs embody the school's Think in the Next ethos. Annually, some 1,800 students are trained to be global leaders seeking the business models and community solutions of tomorrow.

Contact Information
UCLA Anderson Office of Media Relations, (310) 206-7537, [email protected]

For Media Use
Contact the Economists:

Jerry Nickelsburg
Senior Economist and Director, UCLA Anderson Forecast
Office: (310) 206-1132
Cell: (310) 874-8391

David Shulman
Senior Economist, UCLA Anderson Forecast
Cell: (908) 295-6121

William Yu
Economist, UCLA Anderson Forecast
Office: (310) 825-7805
Cell: (507) 458-1421

Follow Us @UCLAAnderson
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube

SOURCE UCLA Anderson Forecast

Related Links

http://www.uclaforecast.com