OECD Economic Forecasts Remain Gloomy

Here is an graphic from the Economist depicting the forecasts from the OECD for the U.S., the Eurozone, Japan and OECD overall:

click to enlarge

Graphic courtesy of The Economist

(From the Economist): "As the leaders of the G20 countries gather in Washington, DC, to discuss the financial crisis on Saturday November 15th, the economic outlook is grim. Gloomy forecasts just released by the OECD predict that America, Japan, the euro area and the OECD as a whole will slide into recession in 2009—if they are not already there. Barack Obama faces a tough challenge: America's output is set to shrink by 0.9%, although it should bounce back more strongly the following year. Inflation will continue to fall, although Japan will again suffer from deflation. And the unemployment rate will climb to 7.5% in America and 9% in the euro area."

Of course this is just a forecast and it more or less comes from the types of policy makers who were telling us not to worry last year, which makes one wonder if the worst is over now that the policy wonks have allegedly caught up to the eight ball.

Still my prediction is that even if the economy recovers the typical consumer/household will be dealing with the after-effects of the current crisis for some time into the future, whether that means continuing to dig out of debt, dealing with the after effects of being unemployed, foreclosure, etc, etc. One thing policy makers have to keep in mind as they devise solutions to the economy at the Macro level, is how to deal with the impact to individuals at the household level.

Sources

The Economist: "How bad will it get?" -- November 14, 2008.