White House predicts 2M new jobs in 2012

The annual White House economic forecast sent to Congress says the U.S. employment picture will improve slightly in 2012. In 2012, the economy is expected to add 2 million jobs, which is an average of 167,000 per month, the White House said. In 2011, the economy gained 1.8 million jobs, an average of 150,000 jobs per month. The Hill newspaper reported Saturday that the White House report says some of the figures are "outdated," such as the projection of 3 percent gross domestic product growth for 2012, which was predicted last fall. The White House has also not revised its forecast of the unemployment rate, which it said on Nov. 15 would drop from an average of 8.9 percent in 2012 to an average of 8.6 percent in 2013. The report said the White House may update its unemployment figures in mid-year. The unemployment rate, which is revised on the first Friday of each month, fell from 8.5 percent in December to 8.3 percent in January.