CEOs optimistic about economy, wary of hiring
BY Wire Reports
Thursday, March 14, 2013
3/14/13 at 2:35 AM
Chief executives at the largest U.S. companies are much more optimistic about their sales prospects than they were three months ago, though many remain cautious about hiring.
The Business Roundtable said Wednesday that 72 percent of its members expect sales to increase in the next six months. That's up from 58 percent at the end of last year. And 38 percent plan to invest more in plants and equipment, up from 30 percent in the October-December quarter, when the Roundtable released its last report.
The better outlook hasn't made the group more optimistic about hiring. Only 29 percent of CEOs plan to increase hiring over the next six months, the same as the last two surveys.
Even so, employers added 236,000 jobs in February, capping a four-month hiring spree in which job gains averaged more than 200,000 per month.
