A recent article on CFO.com reports middle-market companies expect revenue and employment growth to slow over the next year. The article cites a new survey by the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM).

The 1,000 C-suite executives responding to the quarterly survey predicted that on average revenue  would grow 4.4 percent over the next year, a drop from the 5.1 percent estimated the quarter before. They also expected hiring among middle-market companies to grow 2.1 percent over the next 12 months, a drop from the 2.5 percent predicted last quarter.

Middle market indicatorGrowth in the middle market — defined as U.S. companies with revenue between $10 million and $1 billion — may be slowing for a few reasons, says Anil Makhija, academic director at the NCMM. The fiscal cliff, sequestration and ongoing debates over the U.S. debt ceiling all contributed to the feeling of malaise, he says. Health-care reform costs and talent gaps may also be contributing to the slowdown, Makhija says.

Sixty-two percent of respondents, however, said they were at least somewhat confident in the United States economy, compared with 48 percent who said so in the third quarter of 2012.

To view the entire CFO article, click here.