The U.S. economy will generate
“steady” employment gains this year, according to a survey
by the Business Roundtable, an association of corporate leaders.
Eighty-eight percent of executives predicted sales will rise
over the next six months, while 81 percent expected payrolls to
increase or remain constant. It’s the second straight quarter in
which business leaders projected their companies would add jobs, Bloomberg reports.
“America’s CEOs believe that the U.S. economy will continue
to strengthen,” Hank McKinnell, chief executive of Pfizer Inc.
and the 150-member association’s chairman, said in a statement.
“CEOs expect steady employment gains over the next six months.”
The Labor Department is expected to announce on Friday that 225,000 jobs
were created last month after 288,000 in April, the
median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 71 economists found.
Payrolls have increased in each of the last eight months,
and more than 1.1 million jobs have been created since August, Bloomberg reports.
Also, U.S. corporate profits jumped 32 percent in the 12 months
ended in March, the biggest increase since 1984, according to the
latest Commerce Department figures – a finding that is prompting companies to
spend more on new equipment and encouraging hiring, Bloomberg reports.
Bloomberg News
