Results of Business Roundtable’s (BRT) third quarter 2013 CEO Economic Outlook Survey show a small decline in CEO economic expectations for expansion over the next six months.

Overall CEO expectations for the U.S. economy dropped modestly in the third quarter, as reflected in the composite Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index, which declined to 79.1 from 84.3 in the previous quarter. CEO expectations for 2013 GDP growth matched the 2.2 percent annual rate reported in last quarter’s survey.

“CEO expectations for the next six months remain essentially the same with some downside bias. Expectations for sales and capital investment both declined modestly in this survey,” said Jim McNerney, Chairman ofBusiness Roundtable, and Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company. “While U.S. business performance remains strong, as evidenced by robust recovery in the automotive sector, business leaders still see headwinds preventing a more sustained, robust recovery.”

BRT included an additional question in this quarter’s survey concerning the effects of political stalemate in Washington, D.C., on economic conditions. Fifty percent of responding CEOs indicated that the ongoing disagreement in Washington over the 2014 budget and the debt ceiling is having a negative impact on their plans for hiring additional employees over the next six months. 

Overall, hiring expectations were essentially flat, ticking up only slightly from the previous quarter due to fewer CEOs expecting a decrease in hiring. 

Third Quarter 2013 BRT CEO Economic Outlook Survey Indices

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey Index – a composite index of CEO expectations for the next six months of sales, capital spending and employment – decreased in the third quarter of 2013 to 79.1 from 84.3 in the second quarter. The Index stands at about its long-term average level of 79.3.