U.S. chief executives express declining optimism in U.S. economy, survey shows

Almost a third — 31% — said they expect to reduce their workforce, up from 27% in the first quarter. Of those surveyed, 40% expect no changes.

By Kevin Killough

Published: June 2, 2026 2:42pm

America's corporate leadership shows signs of declining optimism in the U.S. economy in a quarterly survey of 141 CEOs.

In its latest survey, the Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, in collaboration with The Business Council, found that only 15% of CEOs say the economy is better now than it was six months ago. That's down 24 percentage points from the first quarter. Of those surveyed, 47% said it's worse, which is up from 8% from the previous quarter.

The overall score fell from 47 in the second quarter, down from 59 in the previous quarter. A rating below 50 means that the negative outlooks outnumber the positive ones.

“CEO confidence fell back into negative territory in Q2 2026, reversing the surge in optimism in the first quarter,” Dana Peterson, chief economist for The Conference Board, said in a statement.

A third of CEOs said the conditions in their own industries were better than six months ago, which was a drop from 42% in the first quarter. Another third said conditions were worse, up from 14% in the last quarter.

Almost a third — 31% — said they expect to reduce their workforce, up from 27% in the first quarter. Of those surveyed, 40% expect no changes.