Survey: Businesses more upbeat, but not hiring
(FILES)A banner reading "Jobs" hangs on the facade of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington,DC in this February 22, 2011 file photo. The US economy generated 227,000 jobs in February, and the overall unemployment rate held at 8.3 percent, the Labor Department said March 9, 2012. The number of unemployed people was also stable at 12.8 million, the Labor Department said. The official jobless rate held steady after falling for five straight months, meeting the expectations of analysts who say the economic growth has slowed in the current quarter after a burst of energy at the end of 2011. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: 509514879(Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM AFP/Getty Images)
Story Highlights
- For the fourth quarter of 2013, only about 25% of businesses added jobs, survey says
- Economic growth for 2014 is expected to be between 2.1% and 3% at an annual rate
- The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December, lowest point in more than 5 years
Businesses expect their companies to perform better this year but that optimism still isn't translating into a push to hire more workers, according to a new survey from the National Association for Business Economics out Monday.
Of the 64 members who responded to NABE's January survey, most said they saw stronger sales in the final months of 2013, and 43% expect their companies to modestly hike selling prices this year. That's the highest percentage in more than 12 months.
Most respondents don't expect the new health care law or the Federal Reserve's easing of its stimulus policies to have a major impact on business, either. However only 37% expect to create jobs in the next six months, the same as in NABE's October survey.
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For the fourth quarter, only about a quarter of respondents said their companies expanded payrolls. Those most likely to report increased hiring were from the manufacturing, finance, insurance and real estate sectors.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December, its lowest point in more than five years. But that wasn't because people found jobs. Rather, they stopped looking for work altogether, making them no longer counted as unemployed.
About 70% of those who responded to NABE's survey predict that the economy will grow between 2.1% and 3% this year. That too is little changed from October, but it is more optimistic than the 2.3% growth forecast by the Fed. On Thursday, the Conference Board reported that its index of leading indicators rose modestly in December, suggesting that growth will remain steady early this year.
The survey results "suggest that economic growth accelerated to a moderate pace during the fourth quarter of 2013 from its modest pace the previous quarter," said NABE President Jack Kleinhenz, principal and chief economist at Kleinhenz and Associates in Cleveland, in a statement.
The survey, released Monday, analyzed responses given between Dec. 19 and Jan. 6 from members with companies employing anywhere from one to more than 1,000 workers.
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