Economists anticipate a “tepid, albeit improving” outlook unfolding for the U.S. economy, according to the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), MarketWatch reported.

Respondents to NABE’s October survey project inflation-adjusted growth in gross domestic product of 1.9 percent in 2012, rising to a 2.4 percent rate for 2013, with growth expected to pick up with each succeeding quarter.

However, employment is likely to remain a sore point for the U.S. economy. NABE’s survey forecasts an uptick in the jobless rate to 8.1 percent by the fourth quarter before slowing falling to 7.8 percent by the fourth quarter of 2013, and average monthly growth in nonfarm payrolls is pegged at 155,000 for next year.

Consumer spending is projected to stay in the doldrums, with NABE’s respondents seeing growth of 1.9 percent and 2 percent for 2012 and 2013, respectively.

The survey also finds economists more optimistic about “continued improvement” in the construction and housing industry as well as for prospects for investment spending, MarketWatch said.