Finance executives are feeling upbeat about the state of the U.S. economy and plan to ramp up hiring in the coming year, according to a new survey of chief financial officers.
The latest Duke University/CFO magazine Global Business Outlook Survey shows more than half of the 477 U.S. finance executives surveyed say they are feeling better about the economy’s future than they were last quarter.
On average, they rate their optimism at 59 on a 100-point scale. When it comes to their own companies, their optimism registers at 67 out of 100, CFO magazine said.
This is potentially good news for job-seekers. In the past, rising CFO optimism has been an early indicator of a strengthening economy, according to John Graham, a professor of finance at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and the director of the survey.
Indeed, the survey shows CFOs say they plan to grow their full-time domestic workforces by 2 percent over the next 12 months and plan to raise temporary hires by 1 percent. The projected increase in full-time staff would bring the unemployment rate below 8 percent by the end of the year, according to CFO magazine.
Still, companies seeking workers are finding it hard to fill vacant positions. According to the survey, 68 percent of U.S. firms are actively looking to fill one or more vacant positions now, but nearly half (47.6 percent) say they have had difficulty filling an open position in the past year.
To fill those positions, 60 percent of CFOs told the survey they are recruiting more actively, while 55.3 percent have expanded their search area and 35 percent said they will hire someone “too junior,” and then train that person. Thirty-four percent of CFOs said they will raise salary to find the right employee, while 21 percent will hire someone “too senior.” Only 4 percent said they will offer better benefits as a hiring enticement.
