NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There is a growing belief that the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression is over.

But don't expect there to be an official declaration or the turning point any time soon. And most average Americans won't feel like things are significantly better in the near term.

The Wall Street Journal's survey of top economists, published Wednesday, found that 57% believe the recession is already over, while another 23% believe that the economy will turn in the next month or two. Most economists now expect growth in the gross domestic product, the broad measure of the nation's economic activity, of about 3% or more in the period of July through September.

But the National Bureau of Economic Research, the body of economists charged with officially setting the start and the end of each recession, won't pronounce a start of the recovery until next year at the earliest.