Southland

Whither the Economy? The widely watched UCLA Business Forecasting Project releases its quarterly forecast for the state and national economies Wednesday. The report takes a fresh look at the California economy in light of the latest signs of a U.S. slowdown. In March, UCLA downgraded its state job growth predictions to 2.1% in 1995. It predicted slower job growth this year in California than across the country, but said the state rate would overtake that of the nation during 1996 and ’97. The March report was pessimistic about the recovery in the residential construction industry. Nationally, the Commerce Department’s index of leading economic indicators has declined for three consecutive months, and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said recently that the economy is in a “pronounced” economic slowdown.