Business expectations are at their highest level in a year despite some lingering concerns about the economy and labor costs, according to a survey of Orange County chief executives, business owners and managers.
California State University, Fullerton’s second-quarter business expectations index is at 88.7, a tick up from 85.5 in the first quarter.
This is the second upbeat reading in a row after the index fell to 75.9 in the fourth quarter amid fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes and rising interest rates.
“In the last 12 months, this is the highest level of optimism we’ve seen,” said Anil Puri, dean of the College of Business and Economics at Cal State Fullerton. “They don’t seem to see any dangers lurking in the near term.”
The expectations index hit a high of 94.9 heading into the third quarter of 2004. Its recent high was 91.3 a year ago.
Cal State Fullerton, which does the survey in association with the Business Journal, launched the survey in the first quarter of 2004.
A reading of 50 or more indicates executives are bullish about prospects in the quarter.
For more on this story, see the April 3 edition of the Business Journal.
