Although there are risks from the European sovereign debt crisis and the "fiscal cliff" confronting the federal government, the U.S. economy is expected to expand over the next year, according to Bloomberg BNA's midyear economic outlook.

This study, which includes analysis from 16 economists, finds that the unemployment rate is predicted to decline from the current 8.2 percent to 7.8 percent on average in 2013. The inflation rate is also expected to remain low, near 1.8 percent to 1.9 percent in 2012 and 2013. In fact, most study analysts believe Federal Reserve policymakers will keep its target interest rate at historic lows until at least the third quarter of 2014.

As the pace of growth is believed to pick up slightly in 2012, the real gross domestic product is expected to hit 2.1 percent in 2012 and 2.5 percent in 2013, the study reveals. Employment gains are predicted to average 136,000 jobs per month during the second half of 2012, and that number is expected to increase to 153,000 jobs per month during the first half of 2013.