Orange County business executives have lowered their hiring expectations for the first three months of this year while just over half of them are bracing for a mild recession, according to a survey prepared California State University, Fullerton economists.
A quarter of executives intend to increase their labor force in the current first quarter, down from 35% in the three months that ended Dec. 31, the CSUF economists led by Anil Puri said.
The executives’ overall OCBX business expectations index  for the first quarter of 2023 fell to 60.5 from 63.9 in the fourth  quarter of 2022. A reading of above 50 indicates a belief in future growth in the economy.
This survey questions were sent to more than 900 business executives in the second half of December.
