CEOs are now as pessimistic on the economy as they were in the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020

Diamond Handers beware: Chief Executive’s U.S. CEO Confidence Index from March shows that CEOs’ optimism about current business conditions plummeted by 20% since the start of the year. On a scale of one to 10 (one is poor and 10 is excellent), the 220 CEOs surveyed gave the current U.S. business environment a five, compared to a 6.3 in January, marking the lowest ranking since the spring of 2020 and the uncertainty surrounding the arrival of COVID-19, one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

Looking ahead 12 months, CEOs don’t see business conditions getting better either. Just under half of respondents said they expected a recession or slowdown in the next six months.

Due to their pessimism about the future, fewer than half of the company leaders surveyed expect profits to increase, compared to 76% in January. Just over one-third plan to increase headcount, while more than half said the same in January.

A majority of the CEOs surveyed however agreed on one thing: Prices are going up. Two-thirds of the leaders said they have, or plan to, increase prices this year. Part of the reason why CEOs said their companies are raising prices is because suppliers have either raised prices on them or are planning to.