2016 Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey- Q1

August, 2016 WSJ/Vistage Confidence Index

CEOs expressed greater concerns about the outlook for the domestic economy but remained upbeat about their own firm’s prospects in the Q1 2016 Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey.

confidence index

Below are some key highlights:

• 54% of CEOs plan to expand their workforce in the year ahead.
• 32% of CEOs said the single most important issue they faced was finding, training, and retaining employees.
• 41% of CEOs plan to increase spending in new plant and equipment, the lowest level in three years.
• 70% of CEOs expect increased revenues in the year ahead, and 55% of CEOs expect increased profits.
• 41% of CEOs said they do not feel that they are prepared for a cyber-attack.
  Read more survey results here: survey results

The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 92.3 in the 1st quarter 2016 survey, down from 95.5 in the 4th quarter, and significantly below last year’s 105.8. Despite continuing economic and political uncertainty, more CEOs reported that finding, hiring, and retaining staff is the most significant business challenge they now face. With a tighter labor market, higher wages and benefits to secure key personnel may be needed. Given the still weak global economy as well as the sharply different economic policies favored by the presidential candidates, smaller firms have remained the engine of economic growth. For more details see the full results.

About the index:

• Monthly survey measuring the sentiment of S. small-business owners and CEOs about the economy.
• Respondents are limited to businesses with annual revenues of $1 million to $20 million. The findings are analyzed by Richard Curtin, University of Michigan. Read more about the survey.

View the Full Infographic Here: CEO Confidence Stagnates at Low Levels