Global financial strains, government fiscal austerity and a lack of jobs will hurt U.S. growth over the next couple of years, according to economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg News.

The world’s largest economy will expand at an average 2.3% annual rate in the second half of the year, about a percentage point less than projected last month, according to the median forecast of 53 economists polled during the first week of August, Bloomberg said. Gross domestic product will grow 2.4% next year and 2.8% in 2013, also less than previously estimated.

Bloomberg quoted Neal Soss, chief economist at Credit Suisse, as saying, “We’re on a path that looks like persistent growth, but growth that is inadequate to solving our short-run problems.” Soss added, “Markets are signaling to businesses and households the future is less certain. When your future appears to be out of control, it’s easier to pull back than it is to get aggressive.”

To read the full text of the Bloomberg story: click here.