Now that the nation has rung in 2011, economists have taken to addressing its current economic situation, with many saying that the economic forecast looks weak at best.

On Jan. 13, economic experts from across the South will assemble at the 2011 Economic Outlook Conference, hosted at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel, to weigh in on issues such as how Alabama will fare in the new year, how the Federal Reserve Bank will work to ease the effects of the recession and why the nation’s economic forecast looks weak, among other topics. The conference is organized by the University’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

Although many analysts are saying the nation’s economic forecast does not look promising, many Alabama analysts said they believe the state’s 2011 forecast looks brighter than last year’s.

Ahmad Ijaz, an economic analyst with the University’s Center for Business and Economic Research, is one of the analysts who says he believes the economy is in better shape than it was at this time last year.

“The state’s economy grew by around 2 percent in 2010,” Ijaz said. “In 2011, the rate of growth is expected to be 3 percent or better. The state is now also adding jobs, albeit at a very modest pace, but we don’t expect a net loss in overall jobs like last year either.”

Ijaz said that in recent months, the state’s unemployment rate has also declined at a much faster pace than the national average.

“From November 2009 to November 2010, Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped from 10.9 percent to 9 percent, while that of the U.S. only dropped from 10 percent to 9.8 percent,” he said.

Bill Gerdes, communications director at the Culverhouse College of Commerce, said the Outlook conference is an annual conference hosted to give the state’s business community a heads up on what to expect in the coming year.

David Altig, senior vice president and director of research of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will present the event’s keynote address, titled, “The Fed’s Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of the Great Recession.”

Following Altig’s address, Samuel Addy, director of the University’s Center for Business and Economic Research, will give the U.S. and Alabama outlooks, which will include a look at how the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has impacted the state and coastal economies.

Although registration for the conference has ended, more information is available at cber.cba.ua.edu.