San Francisco Business Times – Local CEOs nervous, but some still hiring

Bay Area CEOs are nervous about the future, but remain optimistic about the region as a whole — and some are still in hiring mode.

The Bay Area Council said Thursday its recent survey showed that confidence in the economy has taken a hit. The business confidence index, the number that distills the survey findings, registered at 56, down 6 points from the survey last quarter.

The survey indicates that the decrease in business confidence translates to jobs. Six in 10 executives said they predict their workforce will stay the same over the next half year. But only 14 percent of executives stated they planned to decrease their workforce , the same percentage as in the survey last quarter.