Financial chiefs aren't optimistic about hiring in the U.S. and Europe, but see strong hiring growth potential in Asia, according to a recent survey of chief financial officers.
Respondents to the latest quarterly Duke/CFO Magazine Global Outlook survey expect U.S. employment to increase by 0.9% over the next year, up slightly from the 0.7% they projected last quarter. At that rate, the U.S. economy will create about 100,000 new jobs each month, keeping the unemployment rate stagnant at 9%. European employment is expected to fall 0.5% over the next year.
Employment in Asia, however, is expected to increase by 7% over the next year, compared to 6% projected by the survey last quarter.
The survey, which was released today, polled 996 CFOs from global public and private companies across a broad range of industries about their expectations for the economy.
"Certainly CFOs are much less optimistic than they were last quarter," said Kate O'Sullivan, senior editor at CFO Magazine. "That's disappointing but not surprising, given the economic uncertainty."
Still, O'Sullivan stressed that CFOs are expecting to grow their spending in pretty much every category, including tech spending, capital spending and R&D. CFOs aren't expecting a double-dip recession and aren't cutting back yet, O'Sullivan said. "Unfortunately growth will continue to be slow, but it's not disastrous."
The survey seems to confirm the growing realization that Asia is the place to be when it comes to jobs.
"Asia has been really strong on hiring," O'Sullivan said. "The difference between the outlooks is just stark. There's a sense that their economies are growing and anything is possible. They're just less bogged down in the aftermath of the recession than the U.S. and Europe."
Write to Julie Steinberg at julies@fins.com
