Data & Results – Q3 2022

Sept. 28, 2022

CFOs See Higher Costs and Lack of Skilled Labor; Reduce Outlook for Growth

Financial decision-makers responding to the third quarter survey lowered their expectations for real GDP growth amid concerns over inflation and trouble finding skilled labor.

News Release

Revisions to The CFO Survey Data

CFO Survey data from Q2 2020 to Q4 2023 have been revised in accordance with an annual revision process. Revised historical data are available for download. Comparisons of revised and previously published estimates are also available.

Historical special question results are unrevised and available on archived quarterly results pages.

For more information on the annual data revision process, please refer to The CFO Survey Methodology.

  • Special Questions on Cost Increases

    The third quarter survey asked CFOs whether they were experiencing larger than normal cost increases. The share of firms with abnormally large increases in the majority of their costs doubled since the second quarter of last year, from 26 percent to more than 52 percent. More than 80 percent of firms expect cost pressures to persist into next year, and around a third expect these pressures to last longer than a year.

    For additional discussion of these results, visit our Research & Commentary section.

  • Special Questions on Labor Availability

    CFOs said they anticipate continuing to hire at a moderate pace, despite concerns about labor quality and availability. (See firm expectations and top concerns above.) Responding to a series of special questions, they also noted particular difficulty hiring and retaining high-skilled workers. Roughly one-fourth of respondents expect hiring conditions to become more difficult by the end of 2022, compared to only one-tenth of respondents who expect hiring conditions to ease. 

    For additional discussion of these results, visit our Research & Commentary section.

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