NEW YORK, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The Conference Board in New York said Wednesday confidence among chief executives in the nation's economy has declined for the second consecutive quarter.
Recent economic data and surveys indicate a mixed picture of consumer and business sentiment, as well as expectations for growth, making the economy a key debating point during the last weeks of the U.S. presidential election.
"CEO confidence has slipped considerably over the past two quarters, as both current conditions and expectations have softened," said Lynn Franco, director of the group's consumer research center.
Although the CEOs overall assessment of current conditions remains positive, their level of confidence weakened to a 63 reading during the third quarter from 70 during the second quarter, the Conference Board said.
About two-thirds of the surveyed CEOs said current economic conditions have improved, down from 90 percent last quarter. When looking at their own industries, only 57 percent said conditions are better, compared with 71 percent last quarter.
The Conference Board survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 773 small business owners and managers of companies with fewer than 100 employees. It found 35 percent of businesses plan to hire more staff during the next six months, which is down from 46 percent in April.
