Wall Street Journal (01/15/15) Kathleen Madigan
During the first half of 2015, wages will increase and the U.S. will briefly flirt with deflation, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of 66 economists. They also expect that cheap oil will cause inflation-adjusted gross domestic product to grow 3.0% across all four quarters of the year, up from the 2.6% estimated for last year. Stronger economic growth will tighten the U.S. labor market, and a sizable 15% of respondents expect the unemployment rate to be below 5% by year’s end. Tighter labor markets should mean higher pay for most workers.