Left alone, the U.S. economy is poised for above-average growth, likely in the 2.3% to 2.5% range. Some forecasters are looking at momentum from
In the United States, a modest economic tailwind fueled by expansionary fiscal policies and rate cuts will help push growth to 2.2% in 2026, write RSM US Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas and Economist Tuan Nguyen. * **Australia:** The economy will remain resilient amid global uncertainties, producing steady but modest growth of 2%, writes RSM Australia economist Devika Shivadekar. For this reason, we are attaching a 25% probability that growth will increase to 2.5% or higher as inflation eases and the Fed pushes its policy rate to 3% more quickly than investors are pricing in. Should productivity improve, those gains would create the conditions for a quicker return to the Fed’s 2% inflation target, which would provide the ingredients for stronger growth, lower Fed rates and a decline in the 10-year Treasury yield. The combination of a loosening labor market, slower pay growth and lower inflation will allow the Bank of England to cut interest rates in December and potentially twice more next year, taking rates to 3.25%.
Given that we're starting 2026 with a weaker jobs market, a weaker dollar, and stubbornly high interest rates and inflation, it's worth digging
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What do the IMF's latest forecasts reveal about the trajectory of the global economy? Following the release of the spring 2026 World
# World Economic Outlook Update. World Economic Outlook Update, January 2026: Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces. #### Resilient growth as technology and adaptability offset trade policy headwinds. World Economic Outlook Update, January 2026: Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces. Global growth is projected at 3.3 percent for 2026 and 3.2 percent for 2027, revised slightly up since the October 2025 World Economic Outlook. World Economic Outlook Update, January 2026: Projections Table. ###### World Economic Outlook Update, October 2025: Three Essential Questions. ###### Press Briefing: World Economic Outlook, October 2025. ###### World Economic Outlook, October 2025: Key Facts. ###### World Economic Outlook Update, October 2025: Three Essential Questions. ###### Press Briefing: World Economic Outlook, October 2025. ###### World Economic Outlook, October 2025: Key Facts. ###### World Economic Outlook Update, October 2025: Three Essential Questions. ###### Press Briefing: World Economic Outlook, October 2025. ###### World Economic Outlook, October 2025: Key Facts. Regional Economic Outlook Reports, All Regions.
Most members clearly weighted the risks to the labor market more heavily than those of inflation, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though he did so while chanting the mantra that “there is no risk-free path for policy.” [[1](https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/us-economy-2026-what-watch#1)]. Taken together, this research finds little indication that AI has impacted aggregate U.S. labor market conditions so far.[[8](https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/us-economy-2026-what-watch#8)] Although unemployment has increased, it has risen most among workers in occupations with the least AI exposure, suggesting that other factors are at play. As two of us (Bernstein and Cummings) have written,[[11](https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/us-economy-2026-what-watch#11)] there are certainly bubbly features: Valuations of AI-exposed firms have risen sharply even as revenue from AI-specific products and services remains limited. For example, Joseph Briggs of Goldman Sachs estimates[[12](https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/us-economy-2026-what-watch#12)] that generative AI could create $8 trillion of value for U.S. firms through labor productivity gains. Analysis suggests that higher wholesale power costs, investment to replace aging grid infrastructure, extreme weather events, state policies such as net-metered solar and renewable energy standards, and rising demand from data centers and electric vehicles have all contributed to higher prices.[[14](https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/us-economy-2026-what-watch#14)].
”The U.S. labor market remains fundamentally resilient, albeit transitioning toward a slower growth phase.”. While these headwinds are likely to weigh modestly on consumption, they are not expected to fundamentally alter the expansionary backdrop created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, particularly as robust AI‑related capital expenditures continue to provide an important offset and remain a central pillar of growth momentum in 2026. We continue to view the labor market as fundamentally resilient, albeit transitioning toward a slower growth phase, and we have thus revised our year‑end 2026 unemployment rate forecast to 4.6% from 4.2%. We have revised our year‑end 2026 core inflation forecast up by 0.2 percentage points, driven by renewed firmness in non‑housing services, incremental tariff pass‑through, and higher energy prices amid escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran. While we retain our expectation for a single policy rate cut in 2026—consistent with the Federal Reserve’s willingness to look through energy‑driven price shocks—the principal risk has shifted toward a longer period of policy inertia, particularly if labor market cooling remains gradual and inflation progress proves uneven.