In an increasingly gloomy assessment of the U.S. economy, the officers of major companies expect employment at their companies to decline in coming months and rising costs to pinch their profits, according to surveys released Wednesday.

Chief executives polled by Business Roundtable, a Washington-based trade group, pared their expectations of economic growth to an annual rate of 1.3% in the second quarter of this year, from 1.5% in a survey conducted in March. Gross domestic product grew at a 0.9% pace in the first quarter.

Some 31% of CEOs said they expect employment at their companies to decline over the next six months. The group, whose outlook is usually relatively upbeat, has become pessimistic amid mounting energy prices and housing-market worries.

The executives remain cautiously optimistic that their companies' sales will increase over the next six months. About a third of them plan to increase their companies' capital spending during that time.

Meanwhile, chief financial officers are even more concerned, a separate survey by Duke University showed.

The finance chiefs polled expect the economy will be weak through much of next year. Nearly half say higher costs for fuel and other supplies will be passed along to customers in the form of higher prices; they expect their products' prices to rise by 4.1% over the next 12 months.

'This could be the longest slowdown since the double-dip recession of 1979-81,' said survey director John R. Graham, who is a finance professor at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. 'Even more worrisome, there is evidence of stagflation -- slow economic growth and rising unemployment combined with inflation.'

High fuel costs and weak consumer demand already are squeezing profit margins, the finance chiefs said. Capital spending plans are being scaled back for the third quarter in a row. The officers also expect employment to worsen despite noting difficulty finding and retaining 'high-quality employees.'

The credit crunch continues to weigh on companies, with many reporting that credit is hard to find and that borrowing costs have increased. Companies with lower credit ratings are being 'devastated' by the tighter credit conditions, with 82% hurt directly by reduced access to credit and higher borrowing costs, the survey said.

周三公布的两项调查显示，企业高管们对美国经济前景日益悲观。接受调查的这些大公司高管预计，未来几个月公司工作岗位将减少，同时收益将受到成本上升的挤压。

接受行业组织Business Roundtable调查的大公司首席执行长预计，今年第二季度美国经济将较上年增长1.3%，这一预期低于3月份调查时的1.5%。今年第一季度美国国内生产总值(GDP)较上年同期增长了0.9%。

有31%的首席执行长预计，未来六个月自己公司的就业岗位将减少。Business Roundtable的预期通常相对较为乐观，但面对攀升的能源价格与令人担忧的住房市场，其预期也逐渐趋向悲观。

CEO对公司销售状况仍保持谨慎乐观的态度，他们预计，未来六个月公司销售额或将增长。大约有三分之一的受访CEO计划在未来六个月增加公司的资本支出。

与此同时，杜克大学(Duke University)进行的另一项调查显示，与CEO相比，首席财务长们的担忧情绪更为强烈。

接受调查的首席财务长们预计，明年多数时间美国经济仍将表现疲软。约有半数受访者表示，公司会通过产品提价将燃料与其他给料成本上升转移到消费者头上；他们预计，未来12个月公司产品价格会上涨4.1%。

调查负责人、杜克大学福库商学院(Duke's Fuqua School of Business)金融学教授约翰•格雷厄姆(John R. Graham)表示，目前可能是美国经济自1979-81年出现二次衰退以来最长时间的经济疲软。他说，更令人担忧的是，现在还出现了滞胀的迹象，即经济增长放缓与失业增加的同时伴随着通货膨胀上升。

这些首席财务长们指出，燃料成本高企与消费需求疲软正在挤压着公司的利润率。各大公司正连续第三季度削减其资本支出计划。尽管感慨难以获得并留住优秀雇员，但这些高管也预计就业状况或将恶化。

信贷危机也继续令各大公司承压。许多公司表示，贷款难以获得，借贷成本也已上升。据该项调查显示，信贷收紧令许多信用评级较低的公司受到“破坏性”影响，82%的公司受到信贷收紧和借贷成本升高的直接冲击。

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