Business optimism has risen among UK CEOs, reveals the latest research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC’s 13th Annual Global CEO survey, launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, found that 63 per cent of business leaders are confident about the prospects for their firm this year, believing that an economic recovery is now underway.

This rising confidence appears to have been translated into a boost in employment with 42 per cent of UK business leaders planning to increase their headcount in the next 12 months.

UK business leaders are more upbeat than their European counterparts when it comes to recruitment. In the Netherlands only 34 per cent of CEOs expect to increase headcount, followed by France (30 per cent), Italy (29 per cent), Germany (27 per cent) and Spain (9 per cent) but while the UK is leading the European pack, further afield Brazil (61 per cent), India (59 per cent) and China (53 per cent) are showing an even quicker return to bolstering their workforces.

Despite the positive outlook for employment, three quarters of UK CEOs expect consumers will spend less and save more and, as a consequence, 63 per cent plan to make some change to their business and a further 13 per cent plan to make a significant change as they manage the impact of shifting consumer behaviour.

Nearly half of CEOs are concerned that the recession caused a permanent shift in consumer behaviour. Most say that consumers will place greater importance on a company's social reputation (64 per cent), spend less and save more (63 per cent), or be more active in product development (60 per cent).

Ian Powell, UK Chairman and Senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, commented: “It is encouraging to see that UK CEOs are beginning, if somewhat cautiously, to prepare for an upturn. Growth expectations have been severely impacted by the challenges of the financial and economic crisis and the fears of a protracted recession are beginning to recede.”

FILEFINDER Executive Recruitment Software