Executives from the nation’s top businesses are less optimistic about how much the country’s economy will grow over the next six months, according to a new Business Roundtable survey that was released today.
“CEOs foresee slower overall economic growth for 2012 and have lower expectations for sales, capital expenditures and hiring compared to last quarter,” said Jim McNerney, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company. “The downshift in quarterly sentiment reflects continuing concern about the strength of the recovery, including uncertainty over the approaching fiscal cliff and accompanying debates about the tax code, sequestration and the debt ceiling.”
The survey found that only 58 percent of executives believe their sales will increase during the next six months, compared to 75 percent who were surveyed during the second quarter of the year. In addition, the percentage of those who think they will spend more money in the next six months is down to 30 percent, from 43 percent in the earlier survey. Finally, fewer executives are now planning on hiring more employees, with 29 percent saying they will compared to 36 percent that said they would in the second quarter poll.
The survey was completed between August 30 and September 14, 2012. Responses were received from 138 member CEOs, 65 percent of the total BRT membership. Click here to read more about the survey.
