The U.S. economy should return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021 with or without additional federal relief money, according to Congressional Budget Office projections released Monday. The non-partisan research office said that it still could take years for everyone who lost work due to the coronavirus crisis to find another job. The new forecast takes into account increased growth attributed to the $900 billion coronavirus relief package Congress approved in December, which added an expected 1.5 percent to the gross domestic product level this year and in 2022. That legislation included $600 direct checks to individuals, as well as restored extra unemployment benefits. The CBO said it expected the economy, which contracted last year, to grow by 3.7 percent in 2021, and the unemployment rate to fall to 5.3 percent by the end of year. It had put the figure at 8.3 percent in July.