Updated at 12:20 p.m.

The state's chief economist, Arun Raha, has resigned effective Jan. 31 to take a new job.

Raha took over as the head economist in October 2008, just before the Great Recession hit. His initial gloomy quarterly forecasts were like a buckets of ice water compared to the regular surpluses predicted in previous years.

For several years after Raha started, it seemed like no matter how dour the future looked in his forecasts, things turned out even worse with the economy rocked by unpredictable events such as the devastating earthquake in Japan and gridlock in Congress. Lately, though, the forecasts have been on the mark.

"Since September we've pretty much been on target so I thought I'd quit while I'm still ahead," Raha deadpanned in a phone interview, with his usual dry humor. "I don't want to be one of those guys that quits when he's way past his peak."

"It was hard for me to leave," Raha said. "The people I work with here are really amazing."

Raha said he's leaving to become the director of corporate economics for Eaton, a Cleveland, Ohio corporation he's worked for previously. "They offered me a very good deal," he said,

His advice to whoever replaces him: "Listen to everybody, but keep your own counsel. That's the key to doing this job, not get pressured. The forecast was always my best estimate of what the revenues were going to be."

Steve Lerch, who served as the interim chief economist before Raha's appointment, will fill in while the state searches for a permanent replacement.