The Federal Reserve improved its outlook for US economic growth but warned today that unemployment could top 10 per cent before the end of this year, according to dpa. In its first economic forecast since April, the Fed said it expected the world's largest economy to pull out of its deep 19- month-long recession in the second half of 2009. The US central bank said its outlook had "improved modestly" since April and the economy "would expand sluggishly over the remainder of the year." For the whole of 2009, the Fed forecast a contraction of between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent - better than its April prediction of a 1.3 per cent to 2 per cent drop. But the US central bank said unemployment would continue to rise over the next few quarters. It predicted a range of 9.8-10.1 per cent in 2009, up from its April forecast of 9.2-9.6 per cent. The US is mired in its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The unemployment rate is currently at 9.6 per cent, its highest level in more than a quarter-century.
