Major companies to start hiring workers, more CEOs say
More of the country’s major companies are planning to take on workers in the next six months as top executives start feeling more optimistic about the economy, according to a new Business Roundtable survey.
More than 4 in 10 chief executives, or 42%, said they expect to hire employees over the next six months, compared with 16% who foresee job cuts. In the fourth quarter of last year, only 35% of company leaders predicted that they would expand ranks.
The latest survey also found that more than 80% forecasted that sales were likely to rise, compared with 69% of chief executives in the fourth quarter. Nearly half said their companies would increase capital spending, compared with 32% in the previous three-month period.
An index measuring executives’ overall outlook rose to 96.9 from 77.9. Any level above 50 indicates growth.
Continued improvement isn’t a guarantee, however, according to Business Roundtable Chairman Jim McNerney.
Obstacles such as high oil prices, a turgid European economy, questionable expansion in Asia and the presidential election at home could still get in the way, said McNerney, who is also chief executive of Boeing Co.
March has brought a selection of so-so economic news: Home prices are down and so is consumer confidence. But the national unemployment rate has remained steady at a three-year low of 8.3%.
Members of the Business Roundtable head companies that together represent more than $6 trillion in annual revenue and more than 14 million employees.
