All-American Business Economics Association: Nearly 50% US companies say sales have bottomed out

According to a survey by the Shengyuan National Business Economic Association (NABE), nearly half of the respondents believe their sales have bottomed out and employment prospects are starting to improve. In the NABE industry survey, about 45% of the respondents said sales were likely to hit a minimum in the first half of the year; 41% said the company's sales would bottom out at the end of the year, while the overall hiring outlook was grim, with 18% per cent of respondents saying hiring would increase over the next 6 months.　　A total of 102 companies participated in the survey. "America's recession is weakening.　　Even so, the survey still shows "there is little sign of a rapid recovery [in the US economy]", said Sala Johnson, chairman of the NABE Industry Survey Committee, an economist at the think-tank's Global Insight Company.　　The U.S. economy is expected to grow at an annualised rate of 1.5% in the second half of the year after the first four quarters of the contraction, according to a survey by Bloomberg earlier this month. The net employment index of the NABE survey has risen from 17 in April to the current 10, reflecting optimism about the number of employers employed.　　Like the results of the April survey this year, 11% of the respondents said they would continue to lay off staff. America's jobless rate of 9.5% in June, the highest in 26 years, has left US companies without pressure to raise their salaries, but may also limit consumer spending.　　According to the survey, Nabe's salary index has fallen to 8, the lowest record since the survey began in 1982. However, investment in new equipment for enterprises will begin to increase. 26% per cent of respondents said the amount of investment would increase over the next 1 years, up from 16% and 21% in the January and April surveys.