Economists in the Wall Street Journal 's monthly forecasting survey seem to be growing a bit more optimistic--and on average they predict the recession to end in August. This is a month sooner than the April forecast . The survey was conducted before last week's reports of dropping retail sales and increased unemployment claims. But the economists were already anticipating Americans to consume less and save more, and, as Journal's Phil Izzo writes, that is why they project a slow recovery: A consumer retrenchment is one factor that is likely to make any recovery a long slog. The economists on average expect the unemployment rate to climb to 9.7% by the end of the year, with two million more jobs lost over the next 12 months, even as growth returns to the economy. The depth of the downturn means it will take years to eat up the slack created by the recession. Nearly half of the economists said it will take three to four years to close the output gap, while more than a quarter say it will take five to six years. Here's a look at the GDP projections for the forecast, in context ( click here for an interactive version of the graph ): The survey shows generally postive reactions from economists to the actions taken by the Obama administration, and storng support for Fed Chair Ben Bernanke in particular. Phil Izzo and Kelly Evans discuss the May forecast in this video: For the full May forecast, click here .