Of the reporting CEOs, 60% said that business conditions had improved in the last six months and 56% expect conditions to continue to improve in the next six months. In the US, sales confidence rose to a record high reading of 71 and expectations for hiring rose to another record high of 61.6. US CEOs also reported a confidence level of 63.0 for higher capital spending.
YPO noted:
Apparently job creation and rising income trump higher prices at the pump.
The survey, conducted during the first two weeks of April, might have seen somewhat different results if it had been conducted in the first week of May, when the report non-farm payroll came in softer than expected and gasoline prices fell.