USA TODAY

The pace of U.S. economic growth will stay stuck in the low 2% range in 2017 and 2018, far slower than the 3% pace President Trump has been targeting, according to the latest survey of nearly four dozen economists by the National Association for Business Economics.

The economy's estimated trajectory was unchanged from NABE's last survey in June, with economists still expecting the economy to grow 2.2% in 2017 and 2.4% next year. Although the economy has been picked up steam in recent quarters, "the weak start to the year is expected to hold the average annual GDP growth rate in 2017 to 2.2%," said NABE vice president-elect Kevin Swift, who is chief economist and managing director for the American Chemistry Council.

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On the bright side, the odds of recession for this year and next remain low, according to the survey. "Panelists continue to believe that a recession is unlikely in the next two years," NABE said in a statement. The economists placed a 25% or less probability of recession this year, and nearly three out of four economists estimated the same low odds of recession in 2018.

When looking at the economy's annual growth on a fourth-quarter to fourth-quarter basis, the economists surveyed by NABE expected 2.3% growth in 2017 and 2018, which is in line with Trump's 2017 projection but below the 2.5% expected growth rate the administration forecasts in 2018, according to the administration's economic assumptions.

In the long run, the Trump administration sees GDP growth to "increase gradually to 3% by 2020," which is slightly below the average growth rate since World War II. The faster growth projections are seen as resulting from the administration's "productivity-enhancing policies, such as tax reform, infrastructure investments, reductions in regulation, and a greatly improved fiscal outlook," the administration noted in its economic assumptions that underlie its budget for the 2018 fiscal year.

If the projections of the 47 economists are on target, it would be a negative for Trump, who has been banking on faster growth to help generate more revenue for the nation and help pay for his proposed tax cuts.

Nearly three out of four (73%) economists surveyed said they anticipate both individual tax cuts and corporate tax reform to occur by the end of 2018, down slightly from the June report. And 61% expect Trump's infrastructure spending plan also to be passed by Congress by the end of next year. If passed, the money would help pay for costs related to upgrading the nation's bridges, tunnels, roads, airports and other infrastructure.

If these changes to fiscal policy are put into effect next year, it will add a quarter of a percentage point or, 0.25%, to U.S. GDP in 2018, the survey found.