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 their chief executives start feeling more optimistic about the economy, according to a new Business Roundtable survey.

More than four in 10 chief executives said in the first quarter that they expect to hire over the next six months, compared with 16% who foresee job-cutting. In the fourth quarter of last year, only 35% of company leaders predicted that they would expand their ranks.

More than 80% say their sales are likely to rise, compared with the 69% of chief executives who said the same in the fourth quarter. Nearly half forecast more capital spending, compared with 32% three months earlier.

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 looming presidential election at home could still get in the way, said McNerney, who is also chief executive of the Boeing Co.

March has brought a selection of so-so economic news: Home prices are down and so is consumer confidence. But the unemployment rate has remained steady at a 3-year low.

Members of the roundtable head companies that together represent more than $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 14 million employees.

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