We've seen several recent forecasts of U.S. economic growth lately, none of them very rosy. But a new one from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is even gloomier.

In an annual report on the U.S. economy, the IMF predicted that growth won't reach 3 percent for the next five years (pdf).

Here are the exact figures:

2011: 2.5 percent

2012: 2.7 percent

2013: 2.7 percent

2014: 2.9 percent

2015: 2.9 percent

2016: 2.8 percent

That level of growth wouldn't be anywhere near strong enough to make a serious dent in the unemployment rate, currently at more than 9 percent. The report singled out the beleaguered housing sector as a key drag on the economy. "We think that housing difficulties merit more policy attention since they are central to the slow recovery and pose a critical risk," it said.

The Federal Reserve's forecast, which appeared this week, is more optimistic. The Fed said it expects growth to average about 3.4 percent between now and 2013. But even that higher rate of growth likely wouldn't be enough to get the jobless rate back to normal any time soon.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)