Administration Projects $1.2T 2012 Budget Deficit

The latest budget figures from the White House predict this year's federal budget deficit will end up at $1.2 trillion.

That would make the fourth consecutive year of trillion dollar-plus deficits during President Barack Obama's administration.  The White House budget office also predicts the economy will grow at a 2.6 percent annual rate this year and that the jobless rate will average 8 percent this year.

The 2012 budget year ends on Sept. 30. The White House also predicted that next year's deficit will fall just short of $1 trillion.

But the White House promises deficits would drop to about 30 percent of the size of the economy by 2017, in part through $1.5 trillion in tax increases over the coming decade.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)