US professionals are feeling optimistic about 2017 as Donald Trump prepares to take charge
Whether Donald Trump will make America great again remains to be seen. But US businesses are certainly feeling bullish about the year ahead.
Some 81 per cent of US professionals surveyed by Emolument.com said they expect their business to do better in 2017 than 2016.
Perhaps inevitably, British professionals were a little more restrained, with 59 per cent predicting a rise in fortunes this year.
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Lucky Ireland was the second most optimistic nation (79 per cent), followed by Switzerland (75 per cent), Italy (74 per cent), Russia (73 per cent), France (64 per cent) and Hong Kong (64 per cent).
“Uncertainty is a dampener when it comes to business outlooks for 2017,” said Alice Leguary, co-founder and chief operating officer of Emolument.com.
“Countries with key electoral deadlines – such as France – still looming on the calendar are fearful of the impact of new policies, while countries which have already jumped the hurdle, such as the US, seem to embrace the new order with more optimism.
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“The UK, however, despite having already voted for Brexit last June, still grapples with blurred vision generated by this decision.”
Emolument also broke down the 475 answers by industry. Those working in web and apps were most optimistic about 2017 (83 per cent), ahead of tech and telecoms (77 per cent), consulting and professional services (68 per cent) and manufacturing (67 per cent).
Those working in financial services (59 per cent), media and communication (43 per cent) and retail (40 per cent) were a little more gloomy.