July 16, 2003 (ATLANTA) Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Robinson College of Business' Economic Forecasting Center, has been honored as one of the country's most accurate employment forecasters by the Bank One Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State University.  Of the three honorees, Dhawan was the only selected from academia.

Dhawan was recognized for his accuracy in forecasting U.S. job growth, receiving "The Most Accurate of Total Non-farm Employment" award. Also known as the "job-growth forecast," it is comprised of Bureau of Labor Statistics data on non-farm employment, hours and earnings, collected from state employment agencies.

Lee McPheters, director of the Bank One Economic Outlook Center said, "This year the panel had a real challenge to forecast these particular indicators, with job growth sagging, productivity on the rise in many sectors, and private industry trying to hold the line on employment costs."

One of the country's leading economists, Dhawan develops economic forecasts for the U.S., Southeast region and Atlanta metro area. These reports are published and presented to business leaders and the media at quarterly conferences. He is a regular contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators, USA Today Forecasters Survey, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Livingston Survey and the Consensus Economics forecast panel in the UK.

The other recipients are Anne Ramstetter Wenzel, founder of Econosystems, a San Francisco research firm, and James M. Daniels II, research and planning administrator with the labor market information department of the South Carolina Employment Security.  Wenzel was awarded "Most Accurate Forecast Overall" and "Most Accurate Forecast in Non-farm Business Productivity." Daniels received the "Most Accurate Forecast of the Employment Cost Index" award.

Dhawan and the other two honorees sit on a panel of 25 economists who contribute to Arizona State University's National Consensus Forecast of Labor Employment, Compensation, and Productivity.  The National Consensus Forecast of Labor Employment, published quarterly in the Blue Chip Job Growth Update, is the only consensus forecast of job growth in the nation.

Robinson College's Economic Forecasting Center is one of the few university-based centers providing an analysis of the economy, various industries, international trade, as well as prices and interest rates. The Center collects economic data on a national, regional, and local level and analyzes it using the latest statistical techniques. A recent study of forecasting accuracy by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank ranked Robinson's Economic Forecasting Center highest among all university centers.

______________________________________
About The Robinson College of Business
The J. Mack Robinson College of Business is one of the nation's top business schools. The College's Flex (part-time) MBA program has been listed in the top ten by U.S. News for the past eight years and its undergraduate business program is ranked among the top 50 in the nation. BusinessWeek magazine ranked the College's Executive MBA program 20th in the world and Forbes rated Robinson in the top 20 for return-on-investment for regional schools. Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business has an enrollment of more than 8500 students and is located in downtown Atlanta.

About the Bank One Economic Outlook Center
The Bank One Economic Outlook Center is part of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. It produces the quarterly National Consensus Forecast of Labor Employment, which was assembled three years ago to provide key economic information to corporations, government, economic development agencies, and the public.

For more information, contact:
Tammy Demel
Associate Director, Communications and External Affairs
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Robinson College of Business
404/413-7078
404/702-9743 (cell)
tdemel@gsu.edu