In a quarterly survey of the nation’s businesses the National Association for Business Economics reported that the percentage of businesses expecting to hire in the next six months exceeded projected job cuts by 6 points. Expectations for capital spending improved for a fifth straight quarter.

63% of respondent’s states that concerns over health care and environmental or tax legislation had little to no effect on hiring plans. 69% said that President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan passed in February “has had little impact on employment to date”. 29% of respondents said they will increase hiring in the next 6 months, compared with 24% in October. 44% said they expected to increase spending in the next year, while in October only 39% expected to increase spending.

All respondents anticipated that the economy will grow in 2010, with 62% saying the economy would grow by more than 2%, while 45% said the same in October.