World economy growing faster than in years, but not for long

PARIS (AP) — The world economy is growing faster than it has in seven years and more and more people are working — but the high growth isn’t expected to last long, and wages remain stubbornly stagnant.

That’s according to forecasts Tuesday from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which urged governments to do more to ensure longer-term growth and better living standards across the board.

The group, which recommends policies for leading economies, predicts sustained growth in the U.S. this year and next and a sharper-than-expected increase in the countries that use the euro currency.

For 2019, however, the OECD forecasts “a tempering of growth rather than continued strengthening.”

Chief Economist Catherine Mann urged faster re-training of workers amid drastic technological changes, extending retirement ages, investing in renewable energy and simplified tax rules to reduce risks of a new downturn.

“We’ve got wind under the wings but we’re flying low,” she said at the OECD headquarters in Paris.

The agency slightly raised its global growth forecast to 3.6 percent this year — the highest since the post-crisis upturn in 2010 — thanks to rising industrial production, trade and technology spending.

But that “remains modest by past standards,” the OECD said.

Globally, it forecasts 3.7 percent growth next year with a slight drop to 3.6 percent in 2019.

In the United States, the OECD inched up its outlook, predicting 2.2 percent growth this year and 2.5 percent in 2018 thanks to “buoyant asset prices and strong business and consumer confidence.” It expects U.S. growth to fall back to 2.1 percent in 2019.

The OECD cautioned that its forecasts are clouded by uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tax policies and risks of protectionist trade moves. Trump campaigned to protect manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and renegotiate international trade deals he sees as unfair.