The nation’s top CEOs sharply stepped up their hiring and investment plans in the first quarter amid a burst of confidence in President Donald Trump’s pro-business agenda, showing no signs that early political roadblocks have dimmed their optimism.
Meanwhile, as USA Today reports, small business sentiment pulled back slightly but remained near its recent record high.
“CEOs are increasingly positive about the direction of U.S. economy,” Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten says. “I think it’s fair to say that CEOs see the business environment as improving with the president’s focus on jobs and growth.”
Forty-one percent of CEOs plan to increase hiring in the next six months, up from 35% in the fourth quarter, according to a Business Roundtable survey. Just 18% expect to reduce employment, down from 30% late last year. And 46% of the top executives intend to increase capital spending, up from 35%, while just 13% plan to rein in such investment, down from 21%.
Their more expansive plans are rooted in an optimistic outlook. Trump’s plan to reduce corporate taxes already has faced hurdles, with many senators opposing a border adjustment tax on imports, for example. And the president has yet to lay out his $1 trillion plan to upgrade the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and highways.
Trump, however, has taken steps to roll back financial and other regulations, and that’s largely stoking the executives’ confidence in the administration’s early days.
