Bullish CEOs Go Into Hiring Mode

In an interview with FOX Business Network's Sandra Smith, KPMG Global Chairman John Veihmeyer said “confidence has increased over the prior year” and CEOs are looking to hire

Veihmeyer said the results of the company’s latest study showed growing optimism is a result of an improving global economy and he expects CEOs to ramp-up hiring through mid-2018.

“Increased confidence and optimism on the part of CEOs has them saying over the next three years they are going to be hiring and they are going to be hiring aggressively… With more than half the CEOs saying they expect their head count to be up 6 to 10 percent over the next three years and that’s great news for the global economy,” he said.

Topping the list of concerns was the global economy, the regulatory environment and disruptive technology, but Veihmeyer says CEOs are figuring out ways to manage through the challenges.

“We are in an incredibly competitive environment and CEOs are more worried today than I think they’ve ever been… When they talk about what their capital spending plans are, it’s in things that are intended to address some of that competitiveness… It’s geographic expansion outside your home country. It’s investing in new product development,” he said.

According to Veihmeyer, the increase in hiring could also have a positive impact on wage growth.

“The good news is—If CEOs are talking about hiring that much and how competitive the environment is and they talk about the skills gap quite a bit… I think you put those things together and they actually combine for a picture which says wages will have to go up,” he said.