Do not expect to see too many 'Help Wanted' signs in windows next year. While 41 percent of U.S. companies expect an improvement in economic activity in 2014, only 19 percent of them say they expect to hire anyone, according to data published in WSJ.com's Real Time Economics blog.
As bleak as that may seem, it is still more optimistic than the worldwide total. Only 14 percent of all the 11,000 companies included in the global survey said they plan to add new jobs next year, and only 33 percent are optimistic about economic activity.
Add to that the recent accusations suggesting a Census Bureau employee faked jobs numbers and the perennial complaint that jobs numbers do not count everyone who is unemployed, and 2014 could still be hard on a lot of hands eager for work.
