This report provides additional information on the economic forecast that CBO initially released on February 1, 2021. In that forecast, which covers the period from 2021 to 2031, CBO projects that the economy will continue the recovery that it began in 2020 and then enter a sustained expansion. Specifically, real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product is projected to return to its prepandemic level in mid-2021 and to surpass its potential (that is, its maximum sustainable) level in early 2025. In CBO’s projections, the unemployment rate gradually declines through 2026, and the number of people employed returns to its prepandemic level in 2024.
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