WASHINGTON (AP) — America's business economists are sketching a bright picture for the coming months, with a survey finding that more of their companies foresee rising sales and expect to continue hiring and raising pay.
At the same time, nearly two-thirds of respondents in the latest survey by the National Association for Business Economics say President Donald Trump's tax cuts, which were promoted as likely to spur hiring and investment, haven't affected their plans.
The survey appears to suggest instead that the economy's momentum is being driven primarily by solid growth worldwide and by the nearly nine-year-old U.S. expansion from the depths of the Great Recession. With the nation's unemployment rate at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, more companies face pressure to raise wages because there are fewer workers available to hire.
