• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, May 2, 2006

According to the latest McKinsey Quarterly global survey, executives' overall confidence in economic conditions has risen for the second quarter in a row, though the overall economic outlook six months out is a bit less positive. China is the only country where executives believe conditions will be better in six months, either globally or in their own country and industries.

More executives plan to change the size of the workforce over the next six months than had plans to change it six months ago, with a bigger bump in hiring.

• 44 percent now (versus 35 percent then) say they plan to increase their workforce
• 20 percent (versus 18 percent) say they plan to decrease it.
• 53 percent of companies with annual revenue below $10 million plan to hire
• 31 percent of companies with $30 billion or more in revenues plan to hire
• 32 percent of the executives at the largest companies plan to decrease the size of their workforce
• Only 5 percent of those at the smallest companies plan a decrease

Twenty five percent of executives in Europe are planning a decrease. The ongoing political battles in Europe over workers' rights and social taxation likely stem from the same underlying economic shifts that are causing many European executives to reduce the size of the workforce. At the industry level, most executives around the world expect conditions to remain at the same, fairly positive level, but broader economic conditions are expected to falter slightly. Executives in developed countries in Asia and the Pacific expect the biggest drop.

 For more on this study, visit the McKinsey Quarterly.