NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 07/06/09 -- Chief Executive magazine's CEO Index, the nation's only monthly CEO Index, fell 2 percent or 1.4 points, to 74.3 points in June 2009, after three consecutive months of incremental increases, underscoring the uncertainty amongst the 227 CEOs polled in June.

All component indices of the CEO Index declined in June, with the only exception of Future Confidence and Business Conditions Indices. The largest drop was witnessed in the Current Confidence Index, which plunged 11 percent to 62.8 points.

"The shift in CEO sentiment -- albeit slight -- points to the continued volatility in market conditions," said JP Donlon, Editor-in-Chief of Chief Executive magazine. "The mixed signals in the economy and the continued distress in business conditions are all causing CEOs to be cautious and conservative with current investment and business decisions."

For the third straight month, the difference between Current and Future Confidence Index, which measures the outlook of employment, economic and capital spending opportunities over the next quarter, continued to widen, underscoring CEOs growing confidence in future conditions, despite the ongoing doubts about current conditions.

In June, the Future Confidence Index increased 3 percent to 82.1 points, its highest level since October 2008, even as the Current Confidence dropped. Tom Nora, Chairman, Darwin Falls Partners LLC, said, "CEO confidence will begin to increase soon, catalyzing the actual turnaround in 2010."

In additional polling this month, CEOs were asked about the current state of their employment and compensation practices. Forty-five percent of CEOs said they have put a freeze on hiring, while 47 percent said they had a freeze on salary increases. Only 24 percent of CEOs polled said their companies were still hiring and only 25 percent said they are moving forward with salary and bonus increases. Worse yet, 30 percent of CEOs said they are contemplating further layoffs.

For additional information regarding the confidence of public and private-company CEOs, details about CEO attitudes on employment, investment and business conditions, visit our full report at http://www.chiefexecutive.net/ceoindex.

About Chief Executive magazine

Chief Executive is a controlled circulation magazine that has been published since 1977. It reaches 42,000 chief executive officers and their peers, reaches a total readership of 220,000. Chief Executive Group facilitates "Chief Executive of the Year," a prestigious honor bestowed upon an outstanding corporate leader, nominated and selected by a group of his or her peers. Anne Mulcahy, Bob Ulrich, A. G. Lafley, George David, Fred Smith, Bill Gates, John Chambers, Michael Dell and Sandy Weill are just some of the leaders who have been honored during the award's 23-year history. Chief Executive also organizes roundtable meetings and conferences to foster opportunities for top corporate officers to discuss key subjects and share their experiences within a community of peers. Visit www.chiefexecutive.net for more information.

CEO Index, June 2009
Respondents: 227

Index                           May,     June,   Monthly
                                2009     2009    Change
---------------------------------------------------------
CEO Index                       75.7     74.3     -1.4
Current Confidence Index        69.6     62.8     -6.8
Future Confidence Index         79.8     82.1      2.3
Business Condition Index        68.3     69.2      0.9
Invest Confidence Index        100.4     96.8     -3.6
Employment Confidence Index     51.8     50.9     -0.9


What is your company's current employment position?
Reducing Head count                         70    30.57%
Hiring Freeze                              105    45.85%
Hiring                                      54    23.58%
* Total Responses 229
What is your company's current position on compensation?
Normal salary and bonus increases           57    24.89%
Salary freezes                             109    47.60%
Reductions to compensation and other cuts   56    24.45%
* Total Responses 222