A majority of United States economists who work for private companies are optimistic about the country’s economy in 2014, according to a new survey released this week.
The survey, from the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), found that more than 40% of economists working for U.S. companies said they expect firms to raise prices for the first time since 2012 and that the overall economic outlook is improving.
Those considering going to college for a degree should take heed: an improving economy is typically good news for job seekers. Those with college education may have a leg up in an improving job market.
According to the economists who participated in the survey, the outlook for 2014 is an improvement over 2013, which in itself was an improvement over 2012.
“Survey respondents are more optimistic in their economic outlook and, regardless of any changes in monetary policy, expect their firms’ performance in 2014 will be superior to that in 2013,” Jack Kleinhenz, the association’s president and chief economist at Kleinhenz and Associates, told the Los Angeles Times.
One of the major political hot potatoes in the last two years has been the Affordable Health Care Act – better known as Obamacare, named after President Barack Obama. Critics have charged that it could have a serious, negative impact on the nation’s economy.
However, a majority of the economists questioned in the NABE survey said they thought Obamacare would have “little material impact on business conditions.” They also said the same about the reduction in the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program, which has been used to keep interest rates low.
The annual gross national product growth will be about 2.1% to 3%, according to 69% of the economists surveyed. They also voiced optimism about the economy due to an increase in sales and profit margins among many United States companies.
About 63% of the economists reported rising sales at their companies from Dec. 19 to Jan. 6, the highest level for any one-month period in more than a year.
In related news, Caterpillar reported higher-than-expected profits for the last quarter of 2013, despite a drop off in sales to the mining industry. They offset those losses with cost-cutting measures – the company laid off 10,000 workers around the world in 2013 – and also had a 20% jump in construction equipment sales.
The company expects profits from sales to mining companies to continue to fall. However, Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman said the company will continue to look at ways to cut costs and will make “tough decisions necessary to better position us down the road when economic conditions improve and our sales rebound.”
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