CEOs Lose Their Optimism as Job Slowdown Imperils U.S. Growth

[Purveyor]

By Chris Burritt - Jun 8, 2012

U.S. chief executive officers are turning more pessimistic about a second-half recovery as rising unemployment and Europe’s debt turmoil threaten domestic growth prospects.

CEOs from General Motors Co. (GM) to Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) to Manpower Inc. say they are concerned about the health of the U.S. economy. While economists predict a continuing expansion this year and next, executives see a mounting number of obstacles that could clip growth.

U.S. employers added the fewest number of workers to their payrolls in a year last month, while companies including Tiffany & Co. (TIF) and mattress maker Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (TPX) cut their full-year forecasts. European policy makers are also struggling to resolve a crisis that has tipped at least eight of the 17 euro-area economies into recession. The U.S. presidential election is another area of concern, CEOs said.

“There are so many uncertainties,” said Jeffrey Joerres, CEO of Manpower (MAN), the Milwaukee-based provider of temporary workers. “If these uncertainties keep stacking up and none get resolved, we’ll see a hiring pause rather than the current slowdown.”

MORE...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-06-08/ceos-lose-their-optimism-as-job-slowdown-imperils-u-s-growth.html

[BeyondGeography]

1. So I guess their pay is going to decrease?

[rfranklin]

2. If they were real Americans they would hire more people....

They have no faith in this country. They will not open the corporate purse strings and hire a few extra people. Maybe let their current employees do the work of two people instead of three. Provide better health insurance and 401K contributions. The money is there to solve the unemployment problem. They just are not patriotic enough.

[progree]

3. Yes, CEOs, business, and the investor community have been disappointed with Obama

{Sarcasm Alert} One can see their disappointment in the stock market. When Bush left office and Obama took office, the S&P 500 was 850. As of 6/7/12 close it is 1315, up a pathetic 55%, and it took over 3 years of "Obummer" policies to make even that small pathetic gain. (That used to be the criteria for a roaring secular bull market, but that was then, this is now, doncha know). Now its true, Bush inherited an S&P 500 of 1343, and left office with it at 850 -- a 37% decline. But that was not for lack of business and investor confidence with Bush, but rather the effects of Carter's Community Reinvestment Act.

And look at the pathetic job growth under "Oblamer".

* Under Obama there has been only 25 straight months of private sector job growth.

* Only 2.5 million payroll jobs have been created under Obama since June 2009 (that's when the recession ended according to the NBER, and only 5 months since Obama took office) (thru May 2012 with April and May preliminary) . Bush created 1.1 million payroll jobs in his entire 8 year presidency

* Only 3.1 million private sector jobs were created under Obama since June 2009 (contrast that to 0.7 million private sector jobs lost during the Bush presidency)

Again, this shows a lack of confidence of the business and investor community in "Obuhmuh". As for Bush's record, again, of course, he was doing everything he could to reverse Jimmy Carter's ruinous policies, but them there "Demtards" in Congress were keeping him from doing it.

S&P 500: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EGSPC+Historical+Prices
Payroll Jobs: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001
Private Sector Employment: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0500000001

[elleng]

6. Yup.

[JohnnyRingo]

4. The attitudes of CEOs don't matter, consumer attitude does.

It's about the laws of supply & demand, and as long as there's a demand they will create the supply. CEO pessimism doesn't factor in to the jobs market.

No head of business will ever hire or lay people off for any other reason than consumer confidence. Manpower CEO Jeffrey Joerres will never tell clients that he doesn't have workers available because of projected "uncertainties".

[elleng]

5. There are uncertainties, of course,

but the market is up, companies are doing well.
(I do understand why Joerres, Manpower, might be 'concerned,' but not the others.)