WASHINGTON — The White House predicts this year’s federal budget deficit will end up at $1.2 trillion, marking the fourth consecutive year of trillion dollar-plus deficits during President Barack Obama’s administration.
The bleak figures, released Friday, were expected but are sure to add fuel to the already heated presidential campaign, in which Obama’s handling of the economy and the budget is a main topic.
The White House budget office also predicts for this year that the economy will grow at a modest 2.6 percent annual rate and that the jobless rate will average 8 percent. It forecasts modest growth of 2.6 percent next year before rising to 4.0 percent in 2014.
“The economic recovery that began in 2009 will continue at a moderate rate and unemployment will gradually decline,” Jeffrey Zients, the acting White House budget director, said in a blog post. “The economy still faces significant head winds.”
The White House predicted that next year’s deficit will fall just short of $1 trillion. The predicted deficit for 2012 actually improved by $116 billion, in part because Congress didn’t enact much of Obama’s jobs plan. The Associated Press
