Expressing a new-found optimism reflecting Covid-19’s decline, the nation’s top bosses are saying that they’re feeling increasingly buoyant about business prospects.
In a new survey conducted by the publication Chief Executive, the vast majority of company leaders said business conditions and prospects heading into the second half of 2021 appear to be largely on the upside.
On a scale of 1 to 10, the confidence scale among the nearly 300 chief executive officers interviewed came in at 7.4.
The showing, at 7.9, was slightly higher for construction industry leaders.
That is the highest overall position the index has recorded since the pre-Covid days of spring 2019.
In a news release accompanying the survey results, it was noted that the chief executive officers were feeling particularly good about “increasing demand, continued low interest rates, and a return to normalcy that they expect will curb the talent shortage and further lower the unemployment rate.”
The survey also found that 67% of respondents said they expected to hire more employees in the next year.
Despite those positive feelings, the same survey indicated some long-range concerns, with 63% of respondents saying they expected current conditions to either remain the same or improve by the spring of 2022, while a sizable 36% indicated that they thought economic conditions may worsen.
Those expressing misgivings said they were particularly concerned about a rise in inflation and the Biden Administration’s regulatory policies.
The positive index tended to be higher, the larger the company. For businesses with annual revenues under $10 million, the index came in a 6.9; while for those with revenues between $10 million and $999 million, the index stood at 7.4.
By Garry Boulard
