NEW YORK — For the first time in two years, more CEOs expect to be adding jobs than cutting jobs. A survey released Wednesday by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of big U.S. companies, says 29 percent of chief executives expect to increase corporate payrolls over the next six months, while 21 percent predict that their work forces will shrink. Half see no change in jobs.
That’s the first time since the first quarter of 2008 that more CEOs have expected to increase jobs rather than shrink them. In the fourth quarter of 2009, only 19 percent expected their payrolls would grow, while 31 percent predicted a declining work force and half expected jobs to hold steady.
The labor market has just recently begun to improve after losing more than 8 million jobs during the recession. Last week, the government reported that employers added 162,000 jobs in March — the biggest gain in three years.
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