US business executives are feeling more confident about the economy, but they believe talent acquisition will continue to be a challenge, according to the 2024 National Business Trends report by the Employer Associations of America. The report found that 67% of organizations are confident the economy will improve or stay the same in 2024. At this time last year, only 49% of business leaders gave this prediction for the coming 12 months.

“It’s great to see a number of positives from this year’s national trends,” Kim Koy, EAA chair and president/CEO of Employers Council, said in a press statement. “We are seeing a shift to an ‘improvement’ mindset. While many still anticipate a decline, indicators show positive movement upward.”

However, the report found that talent acquisition ranked highest among the most-serious business challenges in 2024. Cybersecurity is also a top concern, ranking as the second most-serious challenge, while talent retention ranked third.

Business leaders indicated hiring was easier in 2023 than the year before, with 44% of organizations hiring as originally planned compared to 47% in the previous year’s survey.

When asked about the most important factors prospective employees are seeking, business leaders said the top five were:

1. Competitive pay, 86%
2. Good work-life balance, 77%
3. Flexibility in work hours, 59%
4. Vacation/paid time off, 37%
5. Competitive/robust health benefits, 34%

When it comes to remote work, the report showed that 40% organizations said “few, if any, staff work remotely on a regular full-time basis.” Only 2% responded that all staff work remotely on a full-time basis.

EAA consists of 24 regional employers associations.