Grant Thornton LLP Optimism Index Rises

It's always nice to close the week with some good news about the economy.

Grant Thornton LLP's final 2010 quarterly survey of American business leaders found that nearly half (47 percent) believe the US economy will improve in the next six months that's up from just 34 percent in August.

In addition:


The job outlook improved. 43 percent of those polled said that their company plans to increase staff in the next six months (up from 38 percent last quarter).


Business leaders are optimistic about their own businesses. More than three-fourths (79 percent) said they feel optimistic about their companies' growth over the next six months.


The overall Optimism Index itself is up 4.6 points to 63.0.


Here's a breakdown of the survey results since May, 2009:

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Interestingly, despite the trend towards business confidence, most of the business leaders in this survey (52 percent) believe that we are headed towards a double-dip recession. This finding echoes results from an earlier Grant Thornton LLP study that found CFOs decidedly more pessimistic about the economy. Perhaps, therefore, the most realistic outlook is one of cautious optimism?

The complete survey findings are available at www.GrantThornton.com/BOI.