Zicklin Survey of CFOs Reveals Brightened Employment Prospects
Last week, Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business and the Financial Executives International group (FEI) released their most recent “CFO Quarterly Global Outlook Survey,” a survey of Chief Financial Officers in the U.S.’s public and private sectors. Zicklin and FEI discovered that CFOs were optimistic about their own Q2 growth and US economic growth, and, as a result, plan to increase employment during the remainder of 2013.
Forty-nine percent of CFOs who responded to the survey expressed confidence that the US economy was showing strong signs of recovery. The CFOs predicted an average revenue growth of 11% one year from now for their respective companies. The financial leaders identified healthcare as the key pitfall for their businesses—according to survey results, the CFOs anticipate that healthcare will cause a 10% increase in costs in the upcoming year. In terms of the global economy, 78% of CEOs surveyed cite the European economy’s stagnant growth as an area of concern while 73% believe they will not be heavily affected by economic circumstances in China or India.
Baruch-Zicklin Economics and Finance professor Dr. Linda Allen cited one survey takeaway that has many professionals and business students talking: 61% of survey-takers indicated that they will hire new employees (including many entry- and mid-level employees) before the close of 2013 and will increase their employees’ pay by 3.5%. In addition, 72% do not plan to cut jobs in Q3 or Q4.
In light of doom and gloom stories about how the new healthcare law will crush employment prospects for small businesses, it’s nice to hear that many major players are bullish on the economy and hiring.
