Business Roundtable survey: No hiring push in early 2012

Most CEOs of large companies aren’t planning on adding workers in the next six months, according to a survey from the Business Roundtable released today.

Surveying 130 chief executives between October 31 and November 18, the Business Roundtable found that 35 percent plan to add workers in the first half of 2012, down from 36 percent in the prior quarter, and 42 percent plan to keep their staffing levels where they are, up from 40 percent in the previous quarter, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

"The findings of this survey reflect the continuation of a slow, uneven recovery characterized by ongoing economic uncertainty for American businesses," the group's chairman, Boeing Co. Chief Executive Jim McNerney, said in a statement, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At the same time, 68 percent of CEOs expected sales to rise in the next six months, the LA Times reported.

"We're right at the point where the economy is growing but not enough to offset productivity and create jobs," McNerney said in a conference call today, Reuters reported.

According to Reuters:

Corporate America has taken a cautious but generally positive view of 2012, despite the worries posed by the European debt crisis. General Electric Co. on Tuesday forecast double-digit percentage growth in profit next year, and DuPont said earnings per share could rise 12 to 17 percent next year.

CEOs surveyed told Business Roundtable that they expected the US economy to grow by 2 percent in 2012, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.