HIRING WATCH: A quarterly survey of U.S. chief executives shows the number of large companies that plan to add jobs or hire more workers is essentially unchanged versus three months ago. Still, fewer expect hiring to decrease.

THE DETAILS: The Business Roundtable says that 29 percent of its member CEOs plan to boost hiring over the next six months, unchanged from the previous survey. But 29 percent expect hiring to decrease versus 34 percent in the previous report.

CONCERN: CEOs worry about the impact of budget cuts and tax increases set to take effect at the start of next year.