ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Economists at the University of Michigan say the U.S. economy is expected to grow at its highest rate in a decade next year.

The annual forecast released Thursday says economic growth as measured by gross domestic product will rise from 2.4 percent last year and this year to 2.6 percent in 2016 and 2.9 percent in 2017.

University of Michigan economist Daniil Manaenkov says in a statement “ordinary performance during 2015, however, masks a stronger domestic economy slowed by sluggish growth in its trading partners.”

Manaenkov and others in the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics in the Department of Economics say the annual unemployment rate will likely fall below 5 percent next year and the national economy will add 4.7 million jobs over the next two years.