WASHINGTON (AP) -- Industry experts say the U.S. economic recovery is gaining traction.
The latest survey from the National Association for Business Economics shows 82 percent of those surveyed expect the economy to grow by anywhere from two to four percent this year. That's up sharply from the 54 percent who predicted that back in October.
About one-third say hiring has improved at their companies, compared with 6 percent who say workers have been laid off.
The quarterly survey also shows the highest figures for growth in the dozen years the survey has been taken.
The downside: more layoffs are expected in the transportation, utility, information and communications sectors.
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