Respondents to the McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions were cautiously optimistic about their companies’ performance in the first half of 2024. But, in some areas, that optimism was more muted than last year. McKinsey Global Institute chair and senior partner Sven Smit and colleagues report that 60 percent of respondents expect profits to increase in the next six months, a drop from September, when 66 percent expressed such optimism. Expectations about jobs were also less positive: unlike in previous quarters, most expect their companies’ workforce to remain the same rather than to grow.
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A pair of line graphs show optimism regarding profits and workforce size in the next 6 months for respondents from various industries. The first graph shows survey respondents’ expectations of profit increases in the next 6 months: only professional services and technology, media, and telecom saw a positive change from Sept to Dec 2023. The second graph displays survey respondents’ expectations that their workforce size will increase in the next 6 months. Only respondents from professional services expected a positive increase in workforce size from Sept to Dec 2023.
Source: McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions, 942 participants at all levels of the organization, Nov 27–Dec 1, 2023.
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To read the survey, see “Survey results: Expectations for company performance, by industry,” December 20, 2023.