Washington – The results of Business Roundtable’s fourth quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey show a continuation of third quarter expectation trends for sales, capital spending and hiring.

“The findings of this survey reflect the continuation of a slow, uneven recovery characterized by ongoing economic uncertainty for American businesses,” said Jim McNerney, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company.

Survey Results

The survey’s key findings from this quarter and the third quarter of 2011 include: 

In terms of the overall U.S. economy, Business Roundtable members estimate real GDP will grow by 2.0 percent in 2012.

Cost Pressures

This quarter’s survey also asked member CEOs to identify their greatest cost pressures. Costs for materials and regulation together accounted for nearly 50 percent of CEO responses. Health care costs came in third among a diverse range of pressures that include pension, litigation and energy expenses.

Fourth Quarter 2011 CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index increased to 77.9 in the fourth quarter of 2011, from 77.6 in the third quarter of 2011. 

Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly since the fourth quarter of 2002, provides a forward-looking view of the economy by Business Roundtable member CEOs.

The survey was completed between October 31 and November 18 and responses were received from 130 member CEOs. The percentages in some categories may not equal 100 due to rounding. Results of this and all previous surveys can be found at http://www.brt.org/ceo_survey.