NEW YORK (AP) — A survey of national economists found that more businesses now expect job reductions at their firms and to spend less on expansions for the first time since the pandemic, a sign that the Federal Reserve’s push to raise interest rates is doing its job to slow the economy.
But the survey shows that business owners are still concerned that the Fed’s decision-making could push too hard on the economy and potentially put the U.S. into a recession this year.
The January survey by the National Association for Business Economics found that its respondents put on average a reading of -7 on how much they plan to hire at their firms, down from previous reading of +8 in October, when NABE did its previous survey.
However, due to inflation, the survey shows that businesses still expect to pay higher wages for the workers they are holding onto.
“The results of the January 2023…
