Ball State Report: Expect Slowing Economic Growth

(Image of Michael Hicks courtesy of Ball State University.)

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Analysis from Ball State University researchers suggests U.S. economic growth will slow in 2018. A report from the Center for Business and Economic Research predicts growth of 2.2 percent in 2018, down from an expected 2.5 percent this year.

CBER Director Mike Hicks expects labor markets to remain stable, predicting an unemployment rate of between 3.5 and 4.5 percent through 2018. He spoke today at the 2018 Economic Outlook Luncheon at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie.

Hicks says, in 2017, the U.S. reported Gross Domestic Product growth of above 3 percent, which he says is better than average post-recession growth. The research pegs Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin as Midwest states that are outperforming the region, while Michigan is growing more slowly.

With labor markets at or near full employment, Hicks says employment growth will likely more closely mirror slowing GDP growth in the coming year.

"At the state and national level, tax and regulatory reforms may improve economic growth," says Hicks, "but it is unclear whether or not more substantive problems are contributing to the lengthy period of slow economic growth."

The report predicts Indiana will achieve 2.1 percent economic growth in 2018, adding roughly 35,000 jobs.