CEO Insights for What's Ahead
Today’s CEO Insights: 1,198 words…5 minutes.
January's Jobs Report
Last week’s jobs report revealed the US labor market remains remarkably resilient, with 353,000 jobs added in January—roughly double consensus expectations.

Economywide strength: Notably, job growth in the first month of 2024 extended beyond the three sectors that dominated hiring in the second half of 2023. Healthcare and social assistance (+100,400), government (+36,000), and leisure and hospitality (+11,000) accounted for just 42% of jobs added in January—after approaching 100% several months last year.

Professional and business services (+74,000), retail trade (+23,000), and manufacturing (+23,000) led this broadening of job gains.

Wages up, hours down: Average hourly wages were up 4.5% YOY in January—significantly outpacing the prepandemic trend. However, average weekly hours slipped to the lowest level since March 2020. This raises a red flag in an otherwise sterling report: Employers are—for now—choosing to reduce hours rather than resort to layoffs.

The TCB take: January’s robust jobs and wage growth aligns with the Fed’s caution in seeking further evidence that inflation is fully under control. Expect rate cuts to wait until June.
CEO-Insight- newsletter-banner.jpg
We’re always looking for ways to make CEO Insights more insightful! Help us improve this weekly newsletter by taking our 2-minute survey.

As a token of our appreciation: The first 25 respondents will be emailed a Starbucks gift card.
Child Care Industry Continues to Struggle
Nearly one in five children in families using paid child care stopped doing so during the pandemic. In addition to the major setback to kids’ educational development, the child care industry took a major economic hit. That’s according to a new report from the Committee for Economic Development (CED), the public policy center of The Conference Board.

An enduring challenge: Despite a strong recovery in the labor force and the broader economy, the number of children in paid care remained nearly 10% below prepandemic levels through at least 2022. This may be due to multiple reasons, including a decline in the number of children of child care age, work-from-home, shifts in parental preferences, and a reduced supply of child care.

Why it matters: Among the most serious threats to the competitiveness of the US business community is the labor shortage. Access to high-quality child care is vital for parents’ participation in the workforce and for the development of the future workforce.

The bottom line: The substantial and lasting impact of the pandemic on child care highlights the industry’s fragility. Private and public sector leaders will need to explore how to restructure the child care business model to support its sustainability.
Overlooking This Group of Workers_540.jpg
As the labor shortage in the US continues, organizations need to get creative about finding and retaining talent. While many baby boomers are eligible for retirement, business leaders shouldn’t count them out. They are an attractive labor pool well worth recruiting and retaining.

They have a lot to offer: Nearly half of boomers expect to or are already working past age 70 and do not plan to retire. They have years of experience to draw from—many have weathered multiple crises, organizational upheaval, and other setbacks—and can help to mentor younger workers.

To successfully recruit and retain boomers:
  • Design recruitment and retention strategies that align with their motivations, which include financial necessity and a desire to add value.
  • Implement programs that leverage boomers to build organizational capacity and develop junior employees.
  • Champion an inclusive culture that encompasses age diversity in addition to race and gender diversity.
The TCB take: Employers who understand what motivates boomers and how to support them and leverage their contributions will have a competitive advantage in the marketplace for talent.
CMO chart_540.png
At our 2024: Year in Preview event last week, one eloquent CEO proposed that “we are not preparing for crises, we are expecting surprises.” The group went on to discuss the opportunities that turmoil always creates for business to innovate and expand.

Prepared for crisis—when there’s a precedent: According to our C-Suite Outlook 2024 survey, CEOs are feeling well prepared for events for which they have prior experience, but they are aware of looming issues that have little recent precedent.

Meanwhile, CMOs have significantly more confidence than CEOs in their preparation for a range of major crises—especially those they’ve faced before. These include a pandemic, cyberattacks, economic instability, and even extreme climate events.

The TCB take: In many ways, marketing and communications are leading the way in adapting to an era of repeated crisis. CMOs and CCOs have developed playbooks based on scenarios and prior experience, adapting “agility” as the prime attribute to drill into their teams. That said, leaders also understand the areas in which they remain underprepared—including food shortages, droughts, and war.
Four Questions to Ask on Scope 3 Emissions_540.png
US public companies are increasing disclosure of their scope 3 emissions, the indirect emissions from their supply chains. Last year, 77% of the S&P 500 disclosed such emissions, a 15-point increase compared to two years earlier. The Russell 3000 saw a 27-point increase, from 16% to 43%.

Expect this trend to continue: Regardless of the fate of the SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rules, thousands of US companies will need to report their scope 3 emissions under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and California’s new rules.

Even though those rules don’t come fully into effect until fiscal years 2024 and 2026, respectively, companies need to prepare now given the challenges in reliably reporting on emissions that, by their very definition, are beyond the company’s direct knowledge or control.

The TCB take: CEOs and board members should be sure they can answer four questions:
  1. Are we subject to scope 3 disclosure regulations and when?
  2. If not, what are the costs and benefits of reporting on scope 3 to investors or other stakeholders?
  3. Do we have adequate processes to report and verify scope 3 emissions?
  4. Even if we don’t report scope 3 emissions, are we ready to report our scope 1 emissions when we’re part of the value chain of a company that does need to disclose under scope 3?
“It's clear that global CEOs are preoccupied by wars and global tensions, the Middle East, Ukraine, and what's happening in the Red Sea and the impact on shipping—clearly top risks for global CEOs.

What's particularly fascinating in terms of the US CEO response [in our C-Suite Outlook] was that the number-one external risk affecting business operations was actually here at home (in the US): the national debt and the explosion of our national debt.”

— Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board. She joined the CEO Perspectives podcast to discuss what's top of mind for business leaders this year.
Events, Webcasts, and Podcasts
 
About The Conference Board
 
Who We Are
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers Trusted Insights for What's Ahead™. Founded in 1916, we are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.
Talk to Us
You are receiving this complimentary email as a benefit of membership. If you are not yet a member of our global network and would like more information about membership, please contact member services.
Tell Your Colleagues
Would your colleagues benefit from these insights? Forward this on to them!
Join the Conversation