WASHINGTON — The economy in 2016 will look like the one from 2008, according to a report the White House’s economic team released today.
The Council of Economic Advisers predicted jobs providing health care and helping the environment were likely to grow more quickly than the rest of the struggling economy. The president’s in-house economic brain trust also predicts the construction sector would eventually recover and add a demand for skilled electricians and plumbers.
The upbeat economic report served as a supporter for President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus plan. Critics have said it has failed to provide the results promised; its supporters, including the president, urged patience.
The White House, seeking to calm domestic frustration, has insisted its plan would eventually boost millions of jobs. The CEA report stood by a prediction that the stimulus spending would save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010.
However, the job market continues to contract and more Americans are filing for unemployment. The economic recession has cost the United States 6.5 million jobs since December 2007 and has left states and cities in financial freefall.
The report also offered some evidence of optimism. White House economists predicted a 48 percent growth between 2000 and 2016 in health care support jobs. The officials also predicted a 52 percent growth during the same period for environment-based jobs.
Even so, the White House acknowledged its predictions were based on a Labor Department report from 2007, before the economic troubles became a crisis and well before Obama’s spending plan took effect.
White House economic adviser Christina Romer planned to talk about the report online at 11:30 a.m. PDT on the White House’s Web site, whitehouse.gov, and on Facebook.
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