Washington ? Terrorism has replaced weak employment growth and the ballooning budget deficit as the biggest immediate threat to the economy, the National Association for Business Economics said Tuesday.

The NABE said that terrorism and defense issues were picked by 40 percent of its survey panel as the biggest short-term threat facing the economy, well ahead of government spending and the deficit, which was selected by 23 percent of the 117 NABE members surveyed.

“Terrorism produces the greatest short-term risk to the economy, and that’s where NABE’s members believe the next president should spend most of his effort,” said Duncan Meldrum, president of NABE.

In response to a separate question on the top priorities for the next administration, the NABE survey respondents said the next president should devote 25 percent of his time to the Middle East and terrorism.

In second place, the survey group recommended 17 percent of the next president’s time and energy be devoted to the budget deficit, which is projected to hit a record $445 billion this year.

“The time has come to tackle reducing the federal deficit, now that it’s no longer needed to stimulate the economy,” Meldrum said

The deficit needs to be brought under control primarily by cutting government spending, in the view of 51 percent of the NABE group while 32 percent said tax increases should be emphasized.

Meldrum said in addition to tackling the deficit, the NABE panel’s priorities for the next president were dominated by concerns about the rising cost of caring for an aging population.