Survey: U.S. manufacturers show growing confidence in economy

A new report from "Big 4" accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) states that confidence in the U.S. and global economies has climbed recently as solid growth and an uptick in business investment have spurred confidence amongst companies.

Of the industrial products manufacturers surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2010, 63 percent said they were optimistic about the U.S. economic recovery and for continued future growth - a significant rise from the 35 percent of respondents in the third quarter of 2010 who expressed confidence in the fledgling recovery.

Barry Mistha, the U.S. industrial manufacturing leader for PwC, said that the "major shift from uncertainty to optimism in this quarter's findings gives us good reason to be hopeful." Mistha contended that as signs of growth continue to spring up, industrial manufacturers will "start making business decisions in a less guarded, more confident manner as we move into 2011."

Moreover, 61 percent of those polled asserted that the U.S. economy is not only stabilizing, but also growing; in Q3, only 27 percent of poll participants thought that. In positive news for the labor market, nearly 50 percent of firms polled plan to hire additional workers in 2011, while 82 percent intend to augment operational spending.